Tatsumi of the Autha-Gaulir
by Oni-Onii
Summary: And he had spent years since then, working towards that one goal. The people he freed from disconnection became the original members of his army, who had dedicated themselves to helping him free the world and make his dream a reality in whatever way they could. They were the elite thirty known as The Wolves in the world famous Legion of one hundred thousand souls. The Autha-Gaulir
1. Prologue

Legend:

}-P.S-{ = perspective shift

{background actions or circumstances}

[Characters Writing or letters/notes]

(flashback)

author body note/commentary

*sound effect

^marks a phrase that can be translated from a real language^

/story break for a character/teigu/tentai heiki/monster breakdown/

BOLD: demon talking, outside force talking, basically anything not explicitly human talking

ITALICS: thoughts, expositional description, emphasis on a particular word

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the following original/fanfictional works: most of these will be referenced and inspired the story being written. All the credits for the original work go to the creators of their respective pieces. I hope that my story will be far enough removed from any individual story that it could become a file off the serial number work, but regardless it still pays homage to these great stories.

Undertale

Homestuck

Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy XII

Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy

+Anima

Akame Ga Kill

Colonel Saber: AGK fanfic

A.N:

This is my very first attempt at writing a story in a more professional light, and as such it is my first fanfiction. I do not mind criticism or advice from other writers, and in fact, appreciate it very much. However, I do ask that you please be courteous and not attempt to try and tear me down or make me feel useless. I am a devout Christian. And it will neither work nor will it accomplish anything aside from me continuing my work with all the more fervor. Anyways, the prologue will be extremely slow because like Esdese I'd like to get some of the more tedious things over with, but as the reader you can skip to chapter one and jump right in to the story, the prologue is only intended to provide a staging for the story and explain a small amount of where I intend to go with The Oblivion Soldier.

p.s. This story will not be a true crossover despite the obvious influences and connections that will be made to some of these stories later on. so please do note that despite the heavy influences of final fantasy XII later on in the story as well as a mixture of the plot and antagonists of FFXII none of the main cast, as well as many of the main events, will not appear at all in this fanfiction. despite the fact that it is my favorite FF game to date, Ashe and Basche are dead, and for all intents and purposes the rest of the protagonists, aside from Lamont, do not exist in this world. Also, this story doesn't take any real inspiration from Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, any connections are purely coincidental unless otherwise noted in a future AN.

Without Further Ado, I hope you enjoy my AKG fanfiction

The Oblivion Soldier: Tatsumi of the Autha-Gaulir

_Tatsumi_

A young man sits under a tree, from appearance alone no-one would have ever guessed that he was a soldier, one who had seen, participated in, and ruled like a beast in lurid, vicious, hellish war. And no-one would ever have guessed it because he spent all of his time, even when he was a man of war, devoting his life, to life itself. He always wrote when he could detailing his entire journey with the fury of untold passion as a writer, and not a soldier. He wrote of everything that he had lived and experienced. The beauty of the hills, the streams, the forests, and the whole of nature. He wrote of the wonder of humans, their achievements, their villages, their cities, and just as with nature he wrote of the whole majesty of society in all of its forms that he had seen thus far in his travels.

The soldier never forgot to write in his journal, and he always found the time for it. He wanted to make sure that some part of his experiences and everything that he'd ever observed in his life would remain, if only for a little while when he died. He did believe that eventually, he would come back, as his religion and Faith in God firmly implanted that he wouldn't cease to exist after death. But this only meant that he wasn't writing so that he wouldn't be forgotten. No the young soldier always wrote so that, if any one soul would ever read his story, maybe they would be able to glean some knowledge, some shred of information that would allow them to live a better life, one that would help them be free and happy, and perhaps inspire them to help others. The young soldier wrote to inspire, to entertain, to catharsis, to teach, to relax, to show people that they were all letting life pass them by, when they were completely wrapped up in their own life, and not looking around to see anyone else's.

[…I walked an hour, and yet with all that I saw and can write about, one would think I had walked a year. In my brief journey, I could see the leaves falling from the trees, denoting the end of summer and the coming fall. I took note of the energy and vivaciousness of the blissfully innocent children as they played in a field, running around and enjoying the sun. The villager's out and shopping, trading, cooking, reading, building…and all other forms of life in movement. But I don't think anyone of them could see everything that was happening. I don't think anyone looked around to realize, that their story, wasn't the only one being written. And as always, once again the earth moves calmly forward as it always has, awaiting the day of reckoning and promise of the 2nd arrival of the lamb. And I must come to wonder once again if anyone sees the simple beauty of life's rhythm. The music of nature, the sopranos as filled by the birds and chirps of insects. The bass of the frogs in the pond, the cymbalic ring of sword against sword, the drumming beat of marching metal, the soft humming chorus of an army, anticipant of the coming sorrow of human sacrifice for life. I wonder if anyone else truly appreciates the music, the simple music…of life.]

*trrc

Tatsumi jerked his head at the snapping twig, prepared immediately to end life if necessary. A soldier of his walked into the small clearing that his commanding officer was resting at. "Sir, I come bearing a message for you, orders from the capital!" Tatsumi relaxed recognizing his messenger, a young man named james. "Very well, at ease soldier, what is this message, corporal?" The soldier saluted bringing his arm in a fist over his heart, arm stretched out.

"His Majesty, Emperor Makoto the 6th would like for you to return to the capital to receive a

special assignment, he says that he is anticipant of your progress as the Nation's Hero, and wishes to make full use of the capabilities of the Autha-Gaulir legion." Tatsumi pondered for a moment. "Thank you, have Lieutenant James prepare the troops to return home, I will move on ahead and meet with his Majesty, please make it known that I expect all of to be you back by the end of the week. You are dismissed, Corporal." James soluted bring his arm out to ninety degrees and placing his fist over his heart."Yes sir, thank you, sir."

The young man sat for a little while longer, pensively contemplating how far he had brought himself from when he had joined the imperial army as a kid, all those years ago. But rather than continuing to reminisce about his past he got up, dusted himself off, and once again walked towards the future. It was time for him to once again don his Armor, and resume his life as the Imperial Dragon. Not that he minded, of course, he didn't live just for the small moments of respite, no, He lived to change this world for the better. As he walked forward a reflection suddenly popped up in front of him, as he walked into it the apparently new formed mirror shattered and disappeared, and him along with it.

A soldier, not the young man he appears to be. Tatsumi of the Autha-Gaulir was someone who had fallen into the darkness. He fell into a desolate place that had been disconnected, cut off from the sun. here, he had almost drowned, he was alone, broken, and had no one to turn to save the God of his faith. And yet despite the nightmare that he had to endure he grew stronger, he found his way back to the light, working to correct his mistakes and be better. As he journeyed in a world filled with sin and Hatred; He grew as a person until his soul felt the undying LOVE, the entire planet was overflowing with it. That love...that's why he picked himself back up and still moved forward.

Even through seeing masks of innocence that held vaunted corruptions, he refused to condemn it, he was no better. Tatsumi was determined to make this right, so he persevered on his path. Through meeting brothers that became his best friends. And meeting heroes who only wished to protect their people, he lonely heart who worked endlessly to help everyone escape their imprisonment, The desperate soul who wanted to make people happy, and so many others that would become his family. Through each and every form of story he always persevered on his own path, and eventually, he gained a blessing of strength in his friendships. This is how Tatsumi began his journey. His experience on his odyssey had given him the drive to make this same change for his country, and if he could the entire world. He wanted everyone to be free, able to live their lives without fear.

And he had spent years since then, working towards that one goal. The people he freed from disconnection became the original members of his army. An elite army of soldiers who had dedicated themselves to help him free the world and make his dream a reality in whatever way they could. The original members, known as The Wolves, in the world famous Legion of one hundred thousand souls. The Autha-Gaulir.

}- P.S. -{

_Esdese_

"Ara ara, such an intriguing warrior, and yet he holds himself back so much…I must say if he would just let go I would never be able to find a…better match for me." A Young Women, no more than 23 years of age sits in her study as she rarely does, drinking wine and reading a very thin file on a person she has gained interest in. Few would have known upon first glance that she is the most dangerous, sadistic, heartless person they would ever meet. She wasn't any "mere" soldier. She was a hunter. The hunter. And she was disappointed that the file on this "Dragon of the Empire" was little more than a few pages that barely contained anything about him, and then the rest were brief reports on the many missions he had accomplished. The most notable of which in the files she had read was single handedly conquering the Southern Border of the Etheralaine Empire, with only a total of 11 casualties to his legion.

A record even her army hadn't even beaten, as she had never sustained less than 20 losses to her army, although she never had a shortage of applicants. And in that same venture, he had returned with a total of 7,948 new recruits for the Imperial army. All of whom are now loyal soldiers, renown throughout the empire as some of the greatest warriors in service, having built a great deal of the empire's defenses up, protected many acquisitions with little to no effective disturbances, and had successfully made trade safer. Which was allowing for 10 times the imports of goods from the south causing the material wealth of the empire to effectively triple; this had, in effect due to the fact that the Autha-Gaulir directly controlled these specific funds, had proved to reduce poverty en mas 63%.

It would appear that anyone who trained under Colonel Tatsumi would have been on par with the Elite soldiers of her own personal Army and they were all loyal to his ideals to a fault. Not a single one of them had any reports of pillaging, rape, or any other number of "normal" war crimes usually committed by members of the Imperial army. And she had read each and every single file of any person to have ever come in contact with the famous Colonel, hoping to learn something of the mysterious soldier. Leading to the current headache she was drowning in wine.

He had definitely caught her attention, and she felt challenged by the mere idea of being able to see his face. No one serving the empire, aside from Budou had been allowed to, including the young emperor and prime minister. The file reported that his identity was kept secret as he used the mystique of his persona as a tactic in psychological warfare. The young soldier was a growing source of intrigue for her, he obviously held a massive amount of potential. His determination was nearly unparalleled. And he was a master strategist if any of the stories held any truth. She hoped he might be able to match her own strength and once more give her life a true challenge. Oh, how she desired, craved, lusted for a real challenge. And luckily for her Prime Minister Honest had found a threat in the Colonel, Honest wanted nothing more than to either control the rising legend or to cull him. As such perhaps she could use the living oxymoron to her advantage.

Esdese: the freezing demoness, the alluring apocalypse, the Ice Queen. A woman unparalleled in pride, power, and nightmare-inducing beauty. As the Empire's strongest warrior, she held more influence than any one individual throughout the Empire, whether Honest would admit it or not, she controlled whatever she liked in the empire, and his only saving grace is his intellect and extensive criminal network allow him the resources and influence to provide her with endless war. Still, as much as he likes to think he has control of Esdese and redundancies to remove her if needed, the truth of the matter is that she was the one in control, and his redundancies had ironically been nullified by Tatsumi as it were. Though this wasn't known to the two of them.

However, with all that she has control of, despite her "charms" and reputation, there is one who would never give into her and was never influenced by her. Even the Great General Budou failed to notice or avoid all of her manipulations, and yet there is one young Warrior who would never so much as turn his head should she ever try to…impress upon him. Physically he was weaker than her, and by her own moral law, she should hold no interest for him whatsoever. But she wasn't foolish, he wasn't yet stronger than her. He held far more potential than anyone even realized, perhaps even himself. He'd already proven that if he truly wanted to he could obliterate any obstacle. He'd already set up the board so that Honest couldn't ever truly be rid of his influence in the empire, and with this influence, he could form a strategy to…dispose…of the prime minister. She wanted him. She wanted Tatsumi, and she intended to have him.

A.N.

 **[discord** **.gg/7vvA3Ce]**


	2. Ch 1 the demons meet

Legend:

}-P.S-{ = perspective shift

{background actions or circumstances}

[Characters Writing or letters/notes]

(flashback)

author body note/commentary

*sound effect

^marks a phrase that can be translated from a real language^

/story break for a character/teigu/tentai heiki/monster breakdown/

BOLD: demon talking, outside force talking, basically anything not explicitly human talking

ITALICS: thoughts, expositional description, emphasis on a particular word

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the following original/fanfictional works: most of these will be referenced and inspired the story being written. All the credits for the original work go to the creators of their respective pieces. I hope that my story will be far enough removed from any individual story that it could become a file off the serial number work, but regardless it still pays homage to these great stories.

Undertale

Homestuck

Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy XII

Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy

+Anima

Akame Ga Kill

Colonel Saber: AGK fanfic

_Tatsumi_

In the royal palace of the Etheralaine empire, a mirror appeared out of nowhere in which a silhouette appeared and walked forward, as it approached the edge of the mirror it began to crack until it shattered as an armoured soldier stepped out of it. Breathing in deeply. Taking in the scent of the polished granite halls. He took a moment to calm himself and prepare for what lies in the future before him. "And now the next chapter of my life begins…"

*sigh.

Colonel Tatsumi of the Imperial Legion, the Autha-Gaulir, Stands before the doors to the throne room, he doesn't know exactly what lies beyond the doors in front of him, He had been summoned rather unexpectedly as he and his legion were returning from wiping out a bandit fortress that had taken up residence near an imperial fort in the east. He knew there were some rumors of his summoning being for an impending promotion to general, which everyone had been expecting for months. And when he arrived back at the Capital, Grand General Budou had personally greeted him at the Gates. Budou was of course as Stoic and un-emoting as normal but his voice still gave away some slight amount of pride.

This left the young Colonel with a slight sense of Anxiety, having been called so suddenly and having his former mentor greet him bodes well for the notion of a promotion, But he knew that Prime Minister Honest would never allow this without some form of catch, it was well known that Tatsumi had become a political threat to Honest due to his sway over the mind of the young emperor and the backing of the people behind him: and he couldn't think of any reason for Honest to allow him any more power and influence. Bodou suggested that he meet with the emperor with haste so Tatsumi teleported into the palace rather than take the longer more relaxed route. And now here he stood in front of the throne room doors, prepared as he ever would be.

*Creeeeeeeeeaaaaaak

The doors were swung open by the imperial guard, and Tatsumi began to move forward, his armor and helm gleaming under the sunlight that poured in from the windows in the grand hall. However, the most notable features about the young man were one: the striking sword at his hip. The hilt and blade made of a purely obsidian metal, the cross guard made of two axe blades entirely comprised of blood red diamond, darker than any ruby, and with the vigor of freshly flowing blood from a wound. The sword is an heirloom of his kin, passed down to the first of any generation to complete the test of the Teigu Beasts. And two: His Helm. Fashioned after the likenesses of Dragons it had an almost feral look to it, whilst retaining an almost faceless cold visage.

*clink, clink, clink, clink

Tatsumi kneeled before emperor Makoto and the prime minister, but still did not remove his helm, For him and him alone was he allowed not to remove his helm in the presence of the emperor, The true reasons behind Colonel Tatsumi always wearing his helm and shielding his face from the eyes of all, were unknown. But, it had been his request that no one be able to identify him out of uniform when he had graduated from sergeant Major to Colonel, and as such the only living people to see his face outside of his kin back at the Kim-Un-Kur village was Budou and the members of the Autha-Gaulir. Budou's input had been the deciding factor behind Makoto allowing this even though he was terribly curious to know what his "Onii-san" looked like. Eventually, it became a commonplace thing and nobody took note of it from Tatsumi.

"Good evening your majesty, I received your summons and came as requested my liege." Tatsumi relaxed a little allowing himself to fall a little more easily into his position, his head tilted down still towards the floor. "I am glad you came Colonel, it is good to see you again and with such great news for the empire! It is wonderful that you have crushed the bandits in the east and made our roads safer for imperial citizens, although this is hardly a notable feat in your list of accomplishments serving in the Imperial Army." chimed Makoto with exhilaration. "Your compliments are appreciated sire, personally just serving to make the empire a better place for the people is reward beyond measure for me." Tatsumi truly meant this. He didn't do this for honour or glory. He was just content making people's lives happier.

"Indeed, you have served this great Empire quite extraordinarily, Even General Esdese is impressed with your work, and speaking of her she should be joining us soon enough." Spoke Honest, grinning in gluttonous venom. As…

*gramph

…Honest slurped on a stick of meat. The helm hid both his disgust at the fat Fuck in front of him, as well as his hatred for Honest and his silver-tongued corruption. But his voice held nothing to hide, already long since trained to evoke emotions that expressed a naivety, and ignorance of the circumstances. "…I look forward to meeting Miss Esdese." The grin on Honest's face turned from venom into the likeness of wretchedly rank rot personified "Indeed, however, Your Majesty perhaps we should move on from these extraneous pleasantries and bring the good Colonel up to speed with our Plans for him, I am sure you'd agree that the tension is rather palpable by now."

*glamgh shliiiiiiiick

"Yes, I agree, colonel Tatsumi!" "My liege." the trepidation was overflowing at this point. Even the light pouring from the windows had dimmed a little with the clouds masking the sun."With careful Consideration, I have decided that you are ready to be promoted to General and take on the responsibilities of helping the rest of the Imperial Legions in protecting the Empire. However It has been agreed upon that you should have one last assignment. It is believed that your new position as a General will be more demanding. And, we believe your next assignment will be an appropriate test to initiate you into your new duties, as it will involve teigu combat. However when you return your position will also be Rewarded with a teigu from the imperial vaults, to mark your promotion as official. " that doesn't make sense, what exactly is that piece of shit, Honest trying to accomplish?

"It is an Honour that you would believe me worthy to be a General, My liege" Tatsumi decided to play Honest's game for the time being. "Onii-san, of course you are worthy, you have kept the West and Eastern borders clean from invasion and inducted many brave souls into the army, even when they were formerly rebels or members of the revolutionary army! Your work has made the empire far safer and stronger." Makoto rang out, ever the enthusiastic young man "If it is your will my liege I will not decline." Tatsumi took note of a slight chill running through the ground all of the sudden "Good my fine young man, then it is settled, if you will please wait for General Esdese to Arrive we will brief you on your Test and you may be on your way to prepare." Said Honest, grinning ever predatorily.

Oh but, Tatsumi had yet to know the meaning of "predatorily" and he would soon find out what predator had been stalking him. Strangely enough, he was still naive enough to not have noticed the interest of one blizzardous blood lusting succubus. Makoto ironically washed off the slight chill in the room, thinking himself having come down with a cold. But the guards in the room began to feel sick. She was coming.

*Creeeeeeeeeaaaaaak

*click

And then the room froze. The oppressive aura of hellish power and a damning level of cold came in an instant. Tatsumi could feel the gaze of the Empires Strongest upon his back, and his skin crawled from the feeling of raw hunger that oozed out of this Woman behind him. His instinct told him that the creature behind him was an immediate threat that needed to be killed with extreme force. Tatsumi breathed in deeply, his chest rising. He took note that it suddenly smelled of flowers, rare wine, and fear. A combination he found rather odd given the circumstances.

*click

All in the room froze not even daring to move a muscle for fear of being seen by the demon. Tatsumi forced himself to relax and let Her aura flow through him just as he had always done with Budou. As he did this her Aura and gaze began to bother him less and less, and she became human to him, just as his kin were known to do with the Danger Beasts that everyone fear. It felt a lot like Winter really, once you got past the feeling of mortal terror.

*click

All were frozen in abject terror…except for the Young Colonel, who was noticeably….unaffected? "You won't be needing to wait for long I assure you" Tatsumi kept breathing in, slowly, taking it all in stride. Esdese found this both amusing and confusing.

*click

The demoness knelt beside the young colonel, taking note that nothing about him changed, his` posture had not stiffened, his breathing remained the same, he didn't hold the smell of fear, and he wasn't affected by her presence. "I received your Summons, my emperor, I do hope that I haven't made you wait long my liege" The boy in question was in shock and his mind hadn't even caught up to what was going on. As she spoke the room began to lighten, everyone felt the presence remove itself from the once permeated room, but they felt it congregate on the colonel. The demoness had become frustrated, even when she poured the full content of her will onto him he was completely unfazed. Tatsumi, to his part felt rather cold now, and was fighting the urge to sneeze. He breathed in once more and then released then he surprised her.

The room felt the oppression return but this felt different. Rather than the damning cold of Esdese killing intent, this felt like the incarnation of despair itself, bone chilling physically, and searingly heated spiritually. And it stayed away from Emperor Makoto as if to avoid harming the young boy. For everyone else However, it felt as if they were being crushed with despair and madness, it was as if the light and life were leaving their bodies and all they could do is stand and watch as happiness died in front of them.

This oppression wasn't just terrifying, it was demonic, in a corner a soldier began to vomit, and many of the others were shakily trying to grab a knife and kill themselves simply to be rid of the feeling of this aura, however no one in the room had the strength of will to move under its power, not even Esdese could bring herself to easily fight it off, but this didn't irk her, in fact, it's effect did something quite the opposite. Honest found himself without his appetite, much to his horror. The oppression grew, far beyond that of General Esdese's and everyone began to see black. A miasmic mist had begun to form around the room, and then it disappeared as if it never existed. And even though they could directly tell where it came from everyone who had felt it knew that it had come from Tatsumi. Thunder Crackled outside. The windows were frantically being closed as rain began to pour in.

The helmed man turned to look to the woman beside him, who remained unfazed, if a bit stiff, despite his oppressive force, although she was disappointed in herself and surprised. ^"hn! Dhia sàbhail mi…" Tatsumi breathed out, and only Esdese heard him.^ She peered at him quizzically, from his posture and tone she could easily discern that he wasn't trying to act or deceive, and his tone appeared to denote him as being amazed by her. It was mildly infuriating that she didn't understand what he said, another mystery to add to an ever growing list. But, she took note that his awe was obviously not influenced her presence; to her annoyance, she wasn't able to discern anything about him

.

It is important to note that this all happened the space of about 15 seconds, and Makoto had no idea what just occurred, to his mind it looked as if she had knelt down addressed him and Tatsumi had briefly looked her over. He hadn't recovered from the shock, so his mind just filled in some blanks and rebooted. Regaining His ability to speak"Ah General Esdese, I am glad you have come so soon, now we may proceed to debrief you two as to Tatsumi's final assignment prior to his Promotion." Emperor Makoto said a little shakenly. "We listen and obey my liege" both Tatsumi and Esdese replied in tandem. "General Esdese, your role in this will be as a judge to report and tell us if Tatsumi is indeed ready to take on the responsibilities as a general, and since this takes up your time we have agreed that you may name a price for your services." Said the Prime Minister with boasting glee, pissed off at Tatsumi for his display.

I have no problem being tested by Esdese, sadistic demon or not she's still stronger than me and I can learn from her. What's his angle?

"Are the formalities really so necessary, we've already discussed that I would like for Tatsumi to be placed as my subordinate if he is not prepared, so that I may teach him personally." Oh…Damn…so that's what it is...shhhhhhit… "General, are you sure that is all you would like? If he succeeds and proves himself worthy then you will have gained nothing from this?" Esdese smiled rather warmly at this. "You have no reason to fret my Emperor when he succeeds then I will challenge him to a "friendly" spar so that I may assess his strength myself. In all of this my hop, and what I look forward to, is the possibility of having someone who can keep up with me."

"Very well, Colonel Tatsumi, for your final assignment we need you to put down a rebellion that has been rising in the Northern reaches of the empire, an army from tenebrous that allies itself with the revolution has cropped up, villages have been raided and there have been no survivors left, the only things left in these areas are pillaged homes, corpses and the remains of defiled women." Before Emperor Makoto had even finished the room felt the oppression again, and this time it was clearly coming from Tatsumi, it was swirling around him like a fog whirling into a typhoon, it was at this moment everyone knew that this, This was an inhuman level of killing intent capable only to those who stood above the rest. And at that moment Esdese gave her trademark grin. What they didn't know is that this was a mixture of Hatred for Tatsumi both at the acts of the raiders, and at himself for mistakes in the past.

"I hear and obey my Liege, these cretins shall be sent to oblivion where they belong," he said in a dead monotone. Esdease took note of the monotone, she couldn't know anything but she understood his aura and it's meaning better than anyone else could, such was her upbringing. As such she was curious at the self-direction of it. "Excellent, I look forward to the reports when you return. Oh! And I also give you leave to visit your home on the way there, it is likely that you won't be able to visit them except sparingly should you succeed." Makoto Chimed out, still naively, blissfully ignorant of much of this meetings subtexts. "Thank you, my Liege."

"Your majesty I am afraid we have worn our time thin, we should allow these fine soldiers leave to prepare, we must return to daily affairs in the capital." Honest seemed rather anxious at this point, Tatsumi wondered why. "Oh? Have we really been here all that long…very well. Colonel Tatsumi, General Esdese, you are dismissed. Good luck on your assignments" replied the young emperor somewhat dejected of not being able to spend time with two of his three favorite soldiers. The irony in this fact was lost only to the boy himself.

"We serve and protect the empire for your glory and the safety of the people." Once again in perfect harmony. Albeit one held a rather extreme level of sincerity for anyone employed in the imperial army. Both stood and turned, the clink of armor and clack of heels echoing in the vast throne room. Her eyes trained to the armoured soldier slightly in front of her, she decided to engage the Young man, still debating on whether or not to play her game. My, my so you are the famous Colonel Tatsumi of the Autha-Gaulir, I've heard much of you." Tatsumi replied easily and without missing a beat "And I have heard much of you Miss Esdese, please forgo the act, I care not for manipulations and you are well aware that it will do nothing with me. What is it that you want from me?" Esdese gave a rather disturbingly sweet smile, causing Tatsumi to wonder if she was in fact aware of how juxtaposed she had managed to make herself."Ara ara, you don't have to be so defensive, I haven't begun my game with you…yet."

"Bullshit, and that doesn't answer my question." With eyes that glinted with the predatorial sense of a lion, and a grin one might compare to the allure of a fatal flower, she put a finger to her lips indicating that she had no intention of answering truthfully "MY dear Tatsumi, you don't need to worry, all I want is to see who lies behind that helmet." Tatsumi took immediate note of the possessive use of words. "Then ask Sensei Budou, he's probably the only person who would tell you. I'm afraid I have my reasons for keeping my mask on at all times" "Ara ara, is that where you learned your stoic sense of formality? I guess your irreverence is to be expected then, but that will change." Esdese's tone changed slightly, sounded more serious than playful "I did, in fact, ask him when you had graduated from a lowly sergeant to a colonel, I believe he had pointed you out with pride and called you a sleeping dragon waiting to wake a storm unlike any other." Tatsumi was starting to understand Esdese a bit more here, or at least her interest in him.

"I am glad to know Sensei thinks highly of me, I hope I do not disappoint his expectations. And no soldier is lowly, anyone who willingly puts their lives on the lines is by no means low, there is no higher form of honour than to protect others who cannot protect themselves." Esdese scoffed at this"That is a foolish notion to believe in Colonel, the weak are destined to die. And what of me? Surely you realize that you could learn much from me." This confirmed tatsumi's suspicion. Inwardly he sighed. Thunder crackled outside "Indeed I could learn much from you, however, I prefer not to gain the strength I desire at the cost of my humanity. And before you recite your mantra again I do agree with you that it is the law of the land: but I do not give a damn about the laws of the land, I will find the strength to defy even nature and I will protect whomever I wish. The weak will not need to fear the strong as long as I can reach my goal."

"That will change Tatsumi, one day you'll see that I'm right." Tatsumi's reply came unexpected to the General "I never said you're wrong. I just don't care." Esdese looked at him incredulously, it made no sense that he could defy her so easily, no one was stronger than her. Despite his impressive Aura, she had a feeling that he was not truly more powerful than her, only more passionate about his beliefs, and perhaps wiser, as it was rumoured he was talented at magicks, not that anyone survived to confirm this. And yet despite the farce of power, they both were aware of, here this boy stood completely unbothered by her at all. She thought for a moment, and decided to change tactics, she could have her fun when he was broken, as her charms clearly won't bend him to her. What would surprise some people is this did bruise her ego a little, she did have pride in her physical charms, regardless of her sexual disinterest in anyone.

"Hmph, I expect you to do well on this test Tatsumi, if you don't I will not be merciful when you are under me." Her tone changing into ruthless monotone. And then she walked off to her room. She had to make plans. Tatsumi sighed to himself, listening to the pattering rain on the windows of the palace. "Esdese…I asked you not to act with me, wearing your mask around me does nothing. I will only take off mine when you take off yours" he said quietly in the echoing halls of darkened stone. She didn't hear him.

Tatsumi decided to forgo visiting his room for now and instead headed to the soldiers dining room, which was separated and made more comfortable for officers since they were stationed higher. Mainly Honesty's doing to pamper people he personally placed in positions of power. Unfortunately for the rising General, the extraneous grandeur of the dining room was not the most disturbing thing that met him when he walked in to rest by the window.

"Hmm, so you must be the Colonel Lady Esdese has been observing as of late, you do show a great amount of potential for combat, but I wonder if you have the strength to serve her well." Spoke the Former General River noting the appearance and Stature of the upcoming General. "I don't see what's so special with the stiff, I bet he can't even appreciate my melodies." This from the sadistic freak known as Nyau. Who still disturbs the ever living fuck out of Tatsumi despite having lived through something comparably worse than Hell itself."I bet I could get lots of experience points beating someone like you! Wanna spar? You look fun." And this came from the Giant of the three beasts Daidara, who single-mindedly like always wants to become stronger.

Great, these mindless lapdogs. "I am not an acquisition for your lady Esdese, no I wouldn't appreciate that screeching cacophony you call music, and perhaps later if there is any real time." Liver stiffened in restraint, Daidara smiled, and Nyau glared in indignation. "..." Liver said nothing, but unfortunately for him, Tatsumi could see his Aura. And Unlike Esdese Tatsumi was a little more developed in this regard and knew exactly what methods of torture he wanted to recommend to His lady when, as he hoped, Tatsumi Failed. Daidara stepped in at this point "I look forward to it, anyone as brash as you has to be able to back it up." But Nyau had to but in out of pride "I hope you succeed in your assignment. Then lady Esdese won't mind it when I skin your face off." Tatsumi let off a little of his killer intent, normally this wouldn't phase the three beasts, but Tatsumi knew how to make it more potent, and could focus it to have psychological effects on his victims.

"As it Stands Cat, I am above you in rank, Regardless of whether you are Esdese's subordinate or not I can court-martial you for blatant disrespect, threatening a fellow, not to mention superior, officer, and reckless endangerment of Imperial Soldiers." Tatsumi glossed over the fact that they knew of his commission, all it did was further confirm that this was premeditated between Esdese and Honest. "In what way am I endangering any lowly soldiers" Nyau hissed, painfully having to work through the images of receiving his Master's torments. "you just sealed that I will be testing my troops against Esdese's, I wonder what her training will be like if they don't conquer mine."

It was at this moment that the three beasts all blanched, even Esdese herself had admitted that The Members of the Autha-Gaulir were superior warriors to her own, far weaker than them and more restrained, but still more skilled. And the Three beasts became afraid of Tatsumi in that one sentence. Because in one sentence he created an unparalleled level of despair.

the thought they all shared. Shit.

A.N.

 **[discord** **.gg/7vvA3Ce]**


	3. Ch 2 When the Guardian marches part 1

Legend:

}-P.S-{ = perspective shift

{background actions or circumstances}

[Characters Writing or letters/notes]

(flashback)

author body note/commentary

*sound effect

^marks a phrase that can be translated from a real language^

/story break for a character/teigu/tentai heiki/monster breakdown/

BOLD: demon talking, outside force talking, basically anything not explicitly human talking

ITALICS: thoughts, expositional description, emphasis on a particular word

_Najenda_

*creeaaaaak, colk, colk, colk, creeaaaak click.

A young woman with silver hair walks in, her eyes scan over the room noting the tension between the armored enigma and the infamous three Beasts especially taking note of the pale looks of hidden fear on each of Esdese's subordinates. the Young General was a close Friends with both General Esdese and Colonel Tatsumi. While he was below her in rank she looked up to and admired the young man. His ideals were immovable and his capabilities far beyond expectancy. She hoped to be like him in that she hoped never to compromise her morals and always strives to protect the people. She was a rare soul in the imperial army, and still somehow naive to the depths of imperial corruption.

Her friendship with Esdese seems strange to some due to this but the two generals enjoy training with each other, and being the only female generals in the Imperial Army they tend to get along and understand each-others gender-based issues as well. Najenda was, in fact, the only person Esdese considered an actual friend, the only person she had any true care for. And Najenda had yet to really learn of the Capitals corruption or Esdese's sadism, she had always been sent out on long distance missions and had constantly, albeit by chance, been kept in the company of soldiers influenced by the Autha-Gaulir, if not the Autha-Gaulir themselves, so she was never subjected to the truth. Tatsumi dreaded the moment she learned just how fucked up the world around her is.

Najenda, while still a little confused, greeted everyone enthusiastically in the warmly lit room. "Good evening, Nyau, Deidara, River….and good evening to you as well Tatsu." Tatsumi nodded to Najenda. "Tatsu? who the fuck calls the stiff Tatsu?" Nyau's face currently resembled something you might expect on a deranged ex-girlfriend "Silence Nyau, now is not the time." River bit back quickly. Nyau turned away and stomped off, squeaking about "Tatsu" whilst cursing with such vividness that a sailor would be taking notes...and blushing. "Astute observation River, very wise of you to indeed be silent… How was your mission Naje? I heard the bandits had a teigu." Confused at the interaction between two of the Beasts and Tatsumi"...Yes...they held the Roman Artillery: Pumpkin. which was the source of the 53 casualties of our company." the three beasts wisely stayed quiet and kept their thoughts to themselves, well except for Nyau's grumblings. aware that everything they did may very well end up with Tatsumi further incurring the wrath of their master upon them.

"...Compatibility?" "I am compatible, but I believe that this Teigu may be better suited in someone else's care, it is not as responsive to me as it was its former wielder." The rain was pelting the windows, it brought a somber feel to the room."It is good that you are at least partially compatible, it indicates that there is a high possibility that an existing teigu can match with you. At any rate, I am sure you can make good use of it in the meantime, it's better that one of us can use it until we locate a more compatible wielder." Tatsumi sounded detached. Something that worried Najenda. She had begun to wonder if Tatsumi's job had begun to wear away at him. "you always look at these things so strategically, most would have just put it into the vault so they could devote more time to finding their own teigu." "most people can't wield a teigu." Shrugging she replies "touche..."

Tatsumi grabbed a glass of wine and some bread and moved over to the window, he sat down on the ledge beneath the window and simply watched the rain as it fell, seemingly content with the apparent storm. And, much to the surprise of the three Beasts instead of removing his helm, he clicked two sections beside the jaw and completely removed a plate around his mouth allowing him to eat without revealing his face and identity. Najenda decided to join him, she had heard from Esdese about his Test. And while she thoroughly believed no one was more suited or capable for the position of General she still wanted to wish him luck and talk with him. In her mind, she secretly fantasized about the three of them reaching renown as the three greatest Generals in history, fighting for The empire together… Tatsumi feared for such innocent naivete.

At this point the three beasts however simply walked out, presumably to crawl back and grovel before Esdese. Perhaps they had completed whatever assignment they had, or they had deemed it no longer of any use to try and glean information on the mystifying Colonel. That and they were threatened with torture directly from Esdese if they ever spied on Naje and they didn't want to risk that. Naje noticed that Tatsumi seemed lost in thought, she sat quietly beside him, enjoying the companionable silence of the figure she viewed like a little brother. "How long do you think it will take?..." Tatsu quietly asked her staring out at the rain

"How long will what take?" the fires on the candlelights flickered. "For this war to end, all of this suffering and bloodshed, we've been at this for centuries, when will there be peace?" Najenda looked down at her winecup pensively. The somber tone of the rain as it beats against the window becoming apparent to her now. Staring at her lap the platinum-haired woman considered how to answer her friend. "Maybe it never will. But we still have to try right? We have to give our all, and maybe one day we will see peace" A small smile played on Tatsumi's lips. A terrifying sight actually as his helm made him look quite inhuman.

*nith

"Indeed, keep persevering, and one day we'll reach peace." She gave him a small smile, not actually knowing if he was even looking at her, to be frank, his helm didn't seem to have a place for the eyes. I looked like it has a visor but there were no discernable holes in the metal, aside from the area where the mouth plate had been removed. In Tatsumi's mind, however, he was dreading the feeling that something terrible was coming soon. Lightning flashed and thunder crackled outside.

* * *

}- P.S. -{

_Esdese_

"Well? What did you learn?" Esdese asked impatiently of the three beasts kneeling in front of her. River was the first to speak. Sweat dripping down his brow despite the frost that had begun to cut into the skin of her three apprentices.. "My lady it would seem we couldn't learn anything, we were unable to provoke any display of his capabilities. General Najenda joined us in the dining hall before we could attempt to provoke anything further than our initial attempt." They all began to shiver as frost began to cover the ground lightly, she never tolerates failure, especially from her three apprentices. Ever the brainlessly bold one Deidara chose now to speak up. "H...However he did seem receptive to the idea of sparring with me." The cold lets up slightly as Esdese glared down at them. "...you asked him for a spar?"

"Y...yes, my lady." Esdese' mind was racing, oddly enough she had never had to think so hard to try and take down a prey, however, she had never known so little about any one prey, as much as she hated to admit it she wasn't sure it was wise to try and take him in a physical fight. She may have been stronger by far, and more powerful, but it wasn't a coincidence that he had beaten all of her records, and controlled a genuinely terrifying army. Esdese took a deep breath reeling in her frost a little, just enough that it wouldn't deal lasting damage to the three beasts. But a light film of ice still covered the polished stone floor.

She had looked into the Autha-Gaulir, she was surprised to find a far more Advanced and massive army then she ever expected. In short, she looked into his army and saw the greatest potential for war in history. So, of course, she became immensely interested in finding out who created it and was in control. Even more surprising she found Tatsumi was in fact not a figurehead. He had an absolute level of control and respect in his army. She was at least able to gather that the Autha-Gaulir viewed each other like on might view family. But there was a slight undertone of fear regarding the Draconically armoured man. With all of his accomplishments, the preceding reputation of his had proven to be well placed. He had earned the title of the Empires most Dangerous just as much as she earned the title of the Empires Strongest.

Esdese had been working for months now to gain as much information on the rising General as possible, however, he seemed to be incredibly adept at eluding her. To such the degree that she had even attempted approaching him herself, only to find that he was untrackable, in such a way that it was almost like he had the ability to halt his own existence temporarily. And when he could not absolutely escape her presence such as times when they crossed paths in the imperial palace for orders and their various duties, he still managed to avoid giving any useful amount of information about himself.

This irked her immensely as it undermined her capabilities, the only things he was truly sure of was that she was stronger than him, and only because he had confirmed it himself, he had been considered for an assignment and elected to pass it off, her instincts and her ability to discern his aura and the truth of his soul confirmed that he truly believed himself weaker than her. regardless of this though she knew that it was quite possible that he was leagues ahead of her intellectually, it was relatively unknown how smart he was but there was no doubting his tactical genius on the battlefield. She was smart, but even she had to fall back on brute strength at times, and sometimes it was only the fact that she, her three apprentices, and her army, were the strongest in the world, that they conquered so many so easily.

the Autha-Gaulir, on the other hand, had a horrifyingly higher success rate without brute strength. They had an almost unwaveringly high effectivity rate in outmaneuvering their opponents. Even when bulk tactics failed, personal tactical capabilities proved more than enough to pick up the slack. His legion was terrifying force be it facing one individual member or face a thousand. Few people had ever successfully killed their members. And the only living person to have done so was Tatsumi Himself. she does note that Tatsumi had developed and maintained a far more brutal and intensive training regimen than she for her army, leading her to wonder why they were not as strong. Or rather, why they were so restrained. His brutal methodology in training his soldiers was only beaten out by her own personal training regimen and likely Tatsumi's personal system as well.

Her luminously blue eyes turned to Daidara "you will press him on this as we travel with him. I need you to wear him out so that I may personally test him and force him to show his capabilities" Esdese had decided to play her Game with the rising General. She had fully set her sights on her next prey. It was no longer curiosity or interest. It had involved from mere desire and had moved into an obsession. Yes, Esdese had turned her full attention to this one goal. She would break and obtain Tatsumi for herself. He would be her greatest student. "Yes, my Lady" Daidara spoke gladly. Relieved to have earned her favor in some way, not realizing that he was expected to lose this fight.

"My lady, you wish to engage the Colonel in combat?" spoke River, wondering what she wished to gain from the matter. He knew a little of how his master's mind worked, but he still had close to no real grasp on the woman he worshipped. But, ever loyal to her he wished for nothing more than to fulfill her desires. "Tatsumi has proven himself intellectually strong enough to be unconquerable in a battle of wits". She hoped it was possible to break him in a battle of psychological warfare. "I can play my game with him, but Tatsumi will no easily break. It's what makes this all the more fun." Esdese recognized that she was left only with attempting the realm of physical combat for a more immediate result. Unconsciously her Aura pushed out, the room was almost of a pure sheen of white now, the window had frosted over, and the rain hitting it froze immediately. "I have every intention of breaking the Colonel and making him mine. He has far more potential than any I have ever seen, I would love nothing more than to personally teach and mold that potential myself."

"Isn't that what this test is for? I thought you and honest had intended for this to be a way to put him on a leash" Nyau spoke up, believing that his failure was predetermined. "he won't fail. while I have never seen him personally get involved his work is impressive by far." She spoke in earnest. Something that struck the Three Beasts: River with jealousy, Nyau with embarrassment, and Daidara with surprise. The number of people Esdese held respect for could be counted on one hand. "Honest is expecting him to fall to the power of teigu, but even the lowest dregs in his army are capable of going toe to toe with even some experienced users." At this River seemed pensive, he had heard much of the accomplishments of the Colonel and his legion.

"and it is rumoured he has successfully found a way to create more teigu, even improving and making new weapons that exceed the capabilities of the old relics by far. whether or not this is true I do not know, however, he has definitely found ancient relics like teigu from before the empire a handful of which are in the vault alongside other captured teigu." "relics?" River inquired curiously. Esdese three apprentices began to wince. Esdese frost was biting into them again, a little more intensely than before. Unfortunately for them, River had made the mistake of asking her a question she couldn't fully answer.

"yes, it would appear Teigu is to our ancestor's relics, as shingu are to teigu. In fact, I have a suspicion that my teigu may actually be one of these relics if some of the notes from his ventures and excavations are any indication" Through their pain, the three beasts started at the proclamation. "Not a teigu?" this surprisingly came from Daidara, despite not being much for intellectual pursuits. "it lies with the fact that it is far more unstable and powerful than other teigu, only someone with an extremely strong bond with their teigu could ever hope to truly match up to even the basic abilities of mine, and I have been able to grow and add on to the abilities of the Demons extract. the notes he found in his excavations indicate that this was a staple in many of the connections with the relics, however, the trade-off for that power was a 0.001% compatibility rate, and the strain put on the user beats out teigu thricefold, making survival rates of users near non-existent. much like every attempted user of Demons extract."

"But what does this have to do with him not Failing his test?" Nyau asked, trying his damnedest not to sound impatient with his master. "despite not having any teigu or relic, he is the commander of his army." Esdese answered disinterestedly "I do not follow my lady." At this Esdese became annoyed, The three beasts began to tremble, they felt the cold reach their bones. The pain was excruciating. "He commands an army filled with Relic users and mages, and no one has ever attempted to usurp him. any attempts of insubordinations in his army have been personally quashed by him, in a brutal manner. it would seem the only form of sadism he has ever shown is displaying the punishment for disloyalty in his army." Believing she got her disappointment across to her three apprentices for their failure to have at least basic information on a well-known figure she let up so that they could speak again. They were still in pain, the ice was still biting into them. Their failures having been beaten into them in their punishment.

"What are the displays?" Daidara asked with morbid curiosity, wheezing out his question from the pain. this time River answered. "They are strung up between two poles and forced to bond with an incompatible relic, the process tears the victim apart spiritually and then the body follows. the only time I have seen such a thing was during a campaign when a soldier foolishly tried to use an incompatible teigu and died for it. I imagine a relic would be far more excruciating" For proving that He had at least paid some attention to her prey she let up the cold a little more, bringing relief to the three beasts. But still, they were enduring the tormentous cold. Esdese nodded in confirmation. "Don't let his popularity with the people fool you, He has no qualms doing what's necessary to win a battle and lead his soldiers."

"So how do you plan to break him?" Nyau asked. Unsurprising to some the freak, face collector was a masochist so he was rather enjoying the feeling of the pain. A fact that bothered his two companions, and earned apathy from his master who couldn't care less. "I don't believe I will be breaking him, yet. if I am going to make Tatsumi mine I will have to play a long game, I'm not looking for the immediate result of the test, I'm looking past his promotion to General, I plan to work very closely with him in the future, eventually, he will concede. Tatsumi will be mine one day."

* * *

}- P.S. -{

_Tatsumi_

unknown to Esdese and the three beasts Tatsumi had retired from his meal and had decided to learn a bit more about what They were up to, and had been standing outside the door listening to them discuss their plans for him. a benefit of wearing armor is that everyone expected to hear him coming. pretty useful having a plethora of stealth-based spells that allow him to avoid Esdese' detection and learn a bit about her intentions, he had hoped to learn more of what Honest was up to but the information he did gain was still useful. And while he was outside the door calmly whittling a log into a figure of Esdese, he was terrified inside. He truly was weaker than Esdese, and while normally her existence isn't too bothersome to him, her attention being placed on him is.

He was especially concerned on one end though. He had never considered that One of the ^Tentai Heiki^ had already found a user outside of his army. many of the relics he had found were little more than just ancient magically enhanced weaponry, they acted a lot like teigu and generally were more powerful, however, on occasion he would find a relic exponentially powerful than all 48 teigu combined, and yes that included Shikoutazer. of all of the people to be capable of bonding with, and wielding the most powerful weapons on the planet, Esdese is a harrowing idea. As it stands she's the only wielder of a ^Tentai Heiki^. He was rethinking whether or not it was wise to have the tentai heiki placed in the imperial vault. It was apparent he had made a major miscalculation in placing faith in the compatibility statistics. As he walked back to his room he considered what actions he should take. He knew there wouldn't be any way to rid himself of Esdese. He had to earn her respect so that she would leave him relatively be. The question was... "How the fuck do you do that?!"

A.N.

for the American readers, the legal age to drink alcohol is, in fact, different around the world, an eighteen-year-old can legally drink in many different countries for example: Germany, Russia, most of South America, some parts of Canada, Greenland, etc. etc. etc. also Tatsumi Is currently 19 in the fanfiction, and Najenda is only 21

So excited for chapter four, have to finish writing it all out and get it polished up, but shit gets real here. Unfortunately, though this chapter may take a while.

Have to admit I didn't expect this to be received as well as it has so far, it's amazing to me that people enjoy it. I look forward to writing this out and the stories that will follow.

Tentai Heiki is japanese for Celestial Ordinance.

Still looking for Beta's! I really want to make sure what I put out is good quality!

Also, shout out for cool man 96, they are looking for someone to help them with a crossover idea they have involving Soul eater and Akame Ga Kill, PM them for more details.

R&R

 **[discord** **.gg/7vvA3Ce]**


	4. Ch 3 When the Guardian marches part 2

Legend:

}-P.S-{ = perspective shift

{background actions or circumstances}

[Characters Writing or letters/notes]

(flashback)

author body note/commentary

*sound effect

^marks a phrase that can be translated from a real language^

/story break for a character/teigu/tentai heiki/monster breakdown/

BOLD: demon talking, outside force talking, basically anything not explicitly human talking

ITALICS: thoughts, expositional description, emphasis on a particular word

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the following original/fanfictional works: most of these will be referenced and inspired the story being written. All the credits for the original work go to the creators of their respective pieces. I hope that my story will be far enough removed from any individual story that it could become a file off the serial number work, but regardless it still pays homage to these great stories.

Undertale

Homestuck

Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy XII

Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy

+Anima

Akame Ga Kill

Colonel Saber: AGK fanfic

-) 4 days later (-

_Tatsumi_

The rising General had found learning more about Esdese far easier than the vice versa was for the subject in question. this was in part due to the fact that, despite his stature and renown, he actually was fairly removed from the empire in his work, really only loosely working with the imperial army as he commanded his own Legion, held his own stronghold, had many undocumented ventures and plans within his company, this not including the extensive measures he takes to keep information from ever getting out to anyone he doesn't intentionally keep in loop. In truth, he became so far removed he was only of the imperial army in his rank, his goals, and his apprenticeship with grand general Budou.

It was his relationship with the grand General that was his saving grace in many ways, Budou knew of all of his plans and held full reports on all of the various missions and orders within his army. Tatsumi trusted him for several reasons, but the highest was because the man was like a father to him. he was found by the grand general in his youth hunting danger beasts…

* * *

flashback:

}- P.S. -{

_Budou_

Half of my company and I were traveling back to the capital, the latter half would be arriving behind us with a new recruit for the imperial army that had gained interest within the higher echelons of the council, a young woman named Esdese. Strong, but arrogant and foolish. She sees no value in life. I do not approve of her addition, However, I have my orders. My only hope is that she grows and matures, she is far too headstrong as she is, and her potential will mean nothing if she becomes another source of corruption that must be taken down. I already must deal with Honest after the rebellion has been quashed. At the very least i can enjoy the peace of a quiet forest for now.

*trrc

I pull my horse to a stop, narrowing my eyes towards the forest.

* GRAAAUGH

An S class danger beast erupts from the forest, it is wounded and clearly, in battle, I prepare to fight. I recognize it as a blazing Liger, one of the same danger beasts used as a component of the Teigu, Invitation of Purgatory: Rubicante. As I prepare to strike it down I hear a rustling from the forest, a boy no older than six or seven emerges from the brush, with a worn down scythe in his hands. He slashes at the Liger rapidly spinning the scythe around elegantly, almost as if this were a dance to him and not a fight. His movements were precise, well trained and swiftly starts to disable it, clearly having worked to push the danger beast into a clearing so as to have access to vital areas. he danced and slid around it, striking at the tendons in the legs and shoulders of the beast bringing it closer to the ground. He was magnificent, capable of fighting a class of creature that had taken armies to kill it in the past. The boy wasted no time before slashing at its neck and slamming the blade down right into the spine killing it immediately.

He fell to the dirt beside the Fallen creature. The boy is panting, repeatedly saying he's sorry, chanting that its sacrifice will not be in vain. He gets up after a moment, somehow still oblivious to his audience as he uses a rope wrapped around his shoulder to tie up the beast. "Boy" He starts not having realized he wasn't alone, he grips his scythe in one arm, clearly not trusting us. "do you realize what you have just managed to kill?" The boy was hesitant, clearly afraid that what he had done was illegal."A danger beast, I have to do this, it's necessary for me to do, so that I can eat."

"you haven't just killed any danger beast boy, that is a blazing Liger, you dispatched it far quicker than a boy of your age should be able to. Inf fact, a boy shouldn't be capable of fighting it at all, much less killing it. Armies have fallen to creatures such as this. Even Generals like me are wary of S class danger beasts. yet here you are hunting one down as if it was natural." The boy obviously didn't follow. It would seem that despite his talent and combat prowess he was still a very young boy. "I told you, I have to do this, I have no food." Budou noted the boy only spoke of feeding himself. "Have you no Family boy?" His face fell. "I'm an orphan, I only have the people back at my village"

Budou decided to probe a little "Where is your village, they must be very proud of you" At this the boy displayed clear distrust. So he does at least have some care for his village. "..." Budou gave the boy a small smile. He had immense skill and potential. "tell you what boy, does your village need aid from taxes and poverty" Budou knew what the answer would be. No village in the empire wasn't under a fatal level of taxes. "...yes" "What is your name Boy?" "Tatsumi...sir…"

Budou offered another small smile to the boy. A light wind blew through the trees, shaking the branches and giving a calming noise of rustling leaves."come with me Tatsumi, I will give you a job in the imperial army, if you do well your village can thrive and no one will ever go hungry again, you won't have to hunt danger beasts alone to survive anymore."

end flashback:

}- P.S. -{

_Tatsumi_

he had found a father figure in Budou, and as such always strove to find his approval. but he never seemed to realize that Budou could never be more proud of Him, he was dedicated to the people of the empire and worked himself into the ground for it. Budou had no children of his own and had come to see Tatsumi as a son. He was proud of the man that Tatsumi had become. A man dedicated to the people.

He proved adept at learning and moved into the imperial army at an alarming rate only being beaten out by Esdese in promotions. She holds the record for youngest General in history at 17, But Tatsumi Holds every other record in the book. His village Celebrated his success and became a thriving community, finally able to enjoy peace as a tradition based Hamlet of sorts. However, Though they were Nomadic and as prestigious as the Partas Clan the Kim-Un-Kur were reclusive and allowed no strangers into their midst. Tatsumi wouldn't have been adopted into his clan, had he not been an infant when they found him. Tatsumi was celebrated for the peace and prosperity he brought to the clan, but he was an outcast to the Kim-Un-Kur, to all but those who adopted him.

This is in part what drove Tatsumi to use his position and influence to remain enigmatic to the world. By remaining anonymous the few people who truly cared for him were allowed some more freedom. This allowed his adoptive elder brother to become a teacher in the capital, and their sister to be an emissary without them being harassed by the imperial army as potential recruits. This also allowed his adoptive parents, the leaders of the clan to dissociate themselves from him. He loved his clan very dearly, but his clan was not his home. Most of his clan was not his family.

Tatsumi Belonged in the Imperial Army. He got around a lot, making impacts across the entirety of the imperial forces. And these impacts led him to his family. And eventually, he would come to find few things mattered to him as much as his Family. In his mind, he owed it to Budou for showing him where he had a family. for showing him that he wasn't just the legacy of the parents he barely knew. "you're an incredibly Quiet person for how famous you are Colonel?" River inquired breaking the young man out of his thoughts. looking over to Esdese who was heeling her horse to remain at pace with his. "if you were being studied like prey by an apex predator, you'd be silent too"

Tatsumi could physically hear Nyau smirking behind him. but more notable to him was Esdese who had tilted her head in confusion. the cute look on her face being something he felt was a sign of the apocalypse. River was fuming. every attempt he made at furthering his master's wishes seemed useless in reference to the Colonel. and far more annoying to the former General is that Prior to having met Esdese he had admired and respected the Colonel. So now that his master wished to acquire him, to help him realize his potential, He had no way to influence the colonel or any way to aid Esdese. The smell of the forest wafted around them, both Esdese and Tatsumi relishing the cold of the snow falling around them.

"So Tell me Tatsumi, would you be against a wager?" Esdese inquired, beginning her initial plan to get that helmet off "That would depend on the wager. If you are trying to hedge a bet that my helmet comes off if you beat me in a spar, there's a snowball's chance in hell I'd take it." Damnit, did he anticipate this?... I'm not becoming predictable, am I? What she wasn't aware of was the fact that Tatsumi was only a couple of steps away from having a rather wide range of psionic capabilities. It was well within the realm of possibility for him to utilize telepathy, but his sense of honour and respect for privacy limited him to his advanced ambience analytical skills. So she wasn't predictable per say, just a lot more easily read for him.

"What if the spar was with me?" Daidara Piped up in the back, noting Lady Esdese's annoyance, his fear of his balls being frozen off kicking in. "I will warn you, I won't allow my skills to be displayed easily" relief flooded the three beasts, expecting it to be a lot more difficult. "Is that a yes then?" Tatsumi nodded his affirmation "we'll have our spar when we get to the Camping point, my Clan is currently placed at a plateau on Mt. Bas^, the climb will take some time so we'll be camping at a clearing towards the base of the mountain." Seemingly from nowhere a man in a black cloak appeared on a Skellquestri, a skeletal horse danger beast, His face was an ashen bone-pale and scars ran both between his mouth and left eye and his right eye across his skull. He was handsome but inhuman. and a smile played across his face unfalteringly. when he moved it sound cracking bones. From a distance, he could easily be mistaken for the undead. Up close he could still be easily mistaken for the undead.

"Commandant! I took the liberty of scouting ahead for you, I can confirm that your area of interest is indeed at ^aithreachas^," he spoke in a chillingly calm voice. Esdese was wary of this man. being around him didn't feel right. it was like his existence was physically wrong. She had a rather strong urge to pull Tatsumi away from him and get as far away as possible. She hated this feeling. But she forced it down and began to study this man, she has heard of him, one of the few well-known members of the Wolves. And an apparent colleague of Dr. Stylish, the imperial arms specialist in the research and sciences division. "Thank you Dr. Gaithson, two steps ahead as always."

Behind the three beasts were all trying to study the newcomer. but even looking at him made them feel sick, chills were running up their spines, and they could hear the screams of people they had killed. _**T. h. e. y. f. e. l. t. t. h. e. i. r. s. i. n. s. c. r. a. w. l. i. n. g. o. n. t. h. e. i. r. b. a. c. k. s.**_ "Of course Commandant, I am most intrigued by this experiment of yours. I do hope you know what you are doing. the bonding process is rather unique." The familiarity and camaraderie between the two were markedly disturbing for Esdese and her three beasts. "Indeed, I would appreciate if you'd tag along with us, your expertise may come in quite useful." "It would be a pleasure sir, it's always an honour to work with you on matters such as this." the wind blew a rather strange scent into Esdese, she realized it was coming from Gaithson, it smelt reminiscent to a volcano/ "thank you, doctor."

And in a blink, the man known as Dr. Gaithson was just gone. Esdese recovered quickly, but the three beasts still felt as if the Reaper was whispering sweet nothings into their ears. "What is this experiment he referring to Colonel" Esdese asked calmly, assessing everything she could about the encounter, especially how comfortable Tatsumi had become around the Doctor. "there is something I wanted to do with you specifically, as I'm sure you know My legion tends to explore a lot in order to find various artifacts and legends across the planet, We have several that we study without moving for various reasons, and one we came across happens to be in Mt. Bas, we have personally had no progress with this specific legend, so I wanted to take you along and see what you make of it. Doctor Gaithson is a good friend of mine and the lead researcher on the artifacts and excavations of the Autha-Gaulir, he is Also one of the four Leading officers of the legion alongside three of his fellow Wolves. two of whom are in fact his sons, Nomic and Necrosus. The fourth of whom, and my second in command will be meeting us at the campsite, her name is Cruxeis. Be warned, They all love puns." The three beasts sweatdropped at that.

Esdese was more intrigued by how unbothered Tatsumi was at the moment, it seemed that the fact he was now in the company of his soldiers, be they unseen from orders to scout around for dangers, or hanging a few hundred meters behind, put him at ease even when near Herself. she was hoping to capitalize on this and try to gain more information on the rising General. every piece of information she could get was aid in her game. If she was going to beat him in a game of psychological warfare she had to know the young man. otherwise, it would take years longer than she was willing to wait otherwise. She wanted him now, but she knew she had to wait; so she was settled for what he could do to shorten her wait.

"I am glad that you are finally relaxing around me Tatsumi, we will be working closely in the future regardless of whether or not you pass your examination."Tatsumi rolled his shoulders, the sound of his spine popping resounding surprisingly loudly from his armour. "I'm aware. I look forward to the challenge. By working with you I'll have a far easier time gauging my progress in catching up to and surpassing you." The grin on Esdese face would make Death herself think twice. "Ara ara, Careful now Colonel, I am quite competitive. I won't just allow you to surpass me." Tatsumi's reply was immediate. "I'm counting on that fact General."

They came to a clearing filled with soldiers who had pitched up tents and had begun building their portable stronghold. of which Esdese and her apprentices noted that Tatsumi apparently kept his soldiers prepared for war wherever they went. climbing down off their horses, soldiers came to place their steeds into stables. Tatsumi's army was efficient and highly effective. Esdese noted that there was no slacking off anywhere, snipers had been placed in several locations in small teams, many were maintaining the makeshift mobile fort, placing walls of metal around the clearing creating barracks and building in a matter of hours, it would seem that the company was prepared to stay for months if necessary, every corner was busy with people working or training.

Esdese' Militaristic mind kicked in, she became rather curious about the logistics "how fast can this all be taken down?" Tatsumi new that the game was going on "going at a moderate pace we can take down our setup in the space of about three hours, but if we need to move we can cut it down to a third of that time. takes about two hours to set up" Tatsumi's tone held pride. "Lieutenant Nomic!" Esdese immediately perked back up, she had heard about this Wolf. "Yes, commandant?" A short man dressed in civilian clothing came up to them, nothing about him spoke anything of a soldier, his tone was lazy and he looked more like his profession was testing mattress comfort. However the three beasts had broken out in a cold sweat again, this was the exact same feeling they had gotten from Gaithson, and Nomic's disturbing unmoving smile unnerved them. He didn't look like much but He felt dangerous. Esdese was twitching, not because he was causing her to feel anything like the three beasts, but because one of Tatsumi's most trusted soldiers, one of the elites, didn't fit in at all. somewhere deep in her, a sense of OCD was greatly agitated.

"I need you to set up a sparring ring and make it...snappy." If possible Nomics Cheshire grin grew wider, at this point it was likely to split his face in half. lifting one arm up and placing his thumb and forefinger together, his left eye flashed a brilliant blue. "Very punny sir, I'll be sure to...ring out a mat in a snap" And as a matter of fact, with a snap of his fingers objects, glowing blue flew from across the clearing and built a small colosseum. in an unused patch of land. the three beats blanched as they realized that this weak looking man may have in fact earned his place in the Autha Gaulir.

Esdese was more intrigued by the fact that two people close to Tatsumi displayed Magical capabilities, teleportation and telekinesis were abilities that could be granted by the teigu, however, both were accounted for, one was in use by Syura, the prime minister's son, and the other was in use by an imperial researcher, a doctor attempting to make enhancements drugs for the elite 7 and the group of terror. This doctor was now in court due to the extremely questionable ethics of his experiments, notably due to the actions of one Colonel...He is likely to be executed for crimes against humanity. Esdese still didn't know what motivated Tatsumi to have the doctor removed. returning to the matter at hand, for them to have these capabilities indicates that Tatsumi may very well be a highly accomplished Magus. normally this shouldn't be too intriguing given the world they live in however, magicks are a dying art, and few people know anything more than the absolute most basic spells, such as healing, small fire blast, lightning strikes, and other elemental magicks.

The rumours were that Tatsumi had managed to reach a point where he would be known as Magus Magistrata, meaning that he had mastered the mystical arts. if this was true then it would be possible that she could, in fact, learn something from him. Many don't expect it of her but Esdese truly enjoyed learning new things, provided that they could in some way make her stronger. she held close to the belief that knowledge was power.

They walked into the makeshift colosseum, Tatsumi at one end, placing his sword into the ground resting his hands against the pommel. And Daidara across from him, grinning like a madman with his Teigu in hand. "Are you sure you want to do this Daidara? I'm not prone to holding back against strong opponents" Tatsumi rolled his neck out and took a deep breath enjoying the subtle scent of nature around him. He wondered about that though since all the trees were dead for winter. "Good I'll get more experience points from this then." Esdese was paying close attention to the aura of disinterest and lack of attention from Tatsumi. She didn't expect him to be arrogant "don't say I didn't warn you" Tatsumi left his sword in the ground and stepped in front of it, Daidara got in his ready position. Nomic stepped forward to call the fight. "You may...begin"

*BOOM

An explosion sounded like thunder at point blank, everyone noticed Tatsumi was just straight up gone, they looked over at Daidara and saw him folded in half over Tatsumi's fist midair, his spine clearly broken, his face was white in shock. Tatsumi spun around rapidly sending the heel of his foot into Daidara's spine, but before Daidara could go flying spun back around and palm heeled dead in front of his broken opponent, the air pressure alone halting Daidara, who crumpled to the ground in a silent scream of pain. Esdese dismissed her notion of arrogance. "And that's the End" Tatsumi said in monotone. Esdese was bothered now, she had to get a taste of this. For Tatsumi to have done that, to have reached a point being capable of that display, he would be able to provide her at least some challenge. Tatsumi had chill run through his body, he could feel desire rolling off of Esdese. He steeled himself and took another deep breath.

picking up Daidara and placing him on a bench Tatsumi motioned for his Medical officers to take care of the now catatonic Daidara. Tatsumi walked over to Esdese. calmly he spoke. "If you want a Wager Esdese here's my offer, I will spar with you, I will go all out, and if I cannot draw blood before you have beaten me, I will take off my Helm. do we have a deal" Tatsumi reached out a hand to Esdese. Taking it and shaking, Esdese replied. "Be sure to entertain me Tat_su_mi."

Tatsumi took note she was excited. which means that if he was going to gain her respect, he had to exceed her expectations here. at the very least by taking out Daidara so quickly he wasn't worn out like Esdese had planned for him to be. Tatsumi's mind was racing, as he knew that she had no intention of holding back, she wanted him to "entertain" her as she said. He knew she was toying with him. he didn't understand why, but he knew that she was. Really his one real concern here was getting close enough to her to actually draw blood. a feat no one had ever accomplished. Even sensei Budou had never successfully drawn blood from Esdese. And Tatsumi hasn't surpassed Budou yet. so in short what was running through the young man's mind was...fuck, shit, fuck Fuck, FUCK, SHIT!...

Esdese and Tatsumi took their positions across the field of the Colosseum. Esdese was grinning like a kid in a candy shop. Tatsumi actually took a ready position this time, clearly taking this fight seriously. His position was quite feral looking actually. He was placed low to the ground his right arm out hand in a claw, three fingers placed to the ground with his left. The draconic nature of his helm made him look like he was, in fact, a small Danger beast. A fact that Esdese enjoyed immensely. Tatsumi knew that to win this he would need a miracle

* * *

}- P.S. -{

_Esdese_

My my, so I finally get to learn something about you Tatsumi. She drew her sword slowly, placing her left foot back slightly, preparing her reflexes to try and outmatch Tatsumi's speed. She knew she was physically stronger and definitely more powerful as he had confirmed to her himself. but after that display. she had no doubt that he was faster than her. Again Nomic came to call the match "You may...Begin" Immediately Esdese called a wall of ice to race down the field between them, trying to force Tatsumi to jump back before she would close the distance. To her surprise, though Tatsumi just swung around slamming a heel into the space her ice would be a split second before it materialized, and the entire wall then shattered. Esdese sensed something behind her and rapidly twisted around to block an impossibility, Tatsumi hadn't moved after shattering her wall, even teleportation doesn't move that quickly, yet here he was striking at her from behind, Tatsumi began to force her back, ensuring she never regained her footing, even her ice was rendered null as he moved fast enough to shatter it before it materialized. Esdese put an extreme amount of force into one of her blocks bouncing Tatsumi back and allowing her to regain her footing, she immediately went offensive, she was determined to make sure Tatsumi lost this fight. She found that she wasn't able to relax lazily like she had become used to in combat. She adored this feeling. It was She kept trying to call her ice but found she had to focus on it to even use it as for defensive purposes due to the rapidly shattered materialization process. She put this aside for now and focused on her physical capabilities.

She was enthralled by the fact that he kept up with her, she was able to get several strikes in on him, but they did little to nothing against his armor, and he seemed more focused on landing attacks on her rather than defending herself. She was annoyed by his speed. Only the fact that her reflexes were perfect and she was able to use her ice to shield various areas in rapid succession kept her from being struck. It didn't make any sense for him to be able to move as fast as he was, she had considered the idea that he was magically enhancing his speed but everything she knew about mystic arts led her to believe that the immediate movement, something that managed to elude her reflexive sixth sense wasn't possible. But, between the trading of blows, moving at a speed unfollowable to any of the onlookers, save for six specific members of the Autha-Gaulir, Esdese noticed that there were glowing marking all along Tatsumi's body. "what magic are you using to increase your speed so effectively?"

dodging multiple blows and looking for openings Tatsumi decided he could use a breather for a little bit to let his mind catch up with what he had learned. for him, time stopped. and then he considered how he should answer her. Tatsumi was naturally inhumanly fast, however, she was right he was, in fact, using magic to increase his speed. More accurately he was halting time so that he could be in a place he shouldn't be. It's incredibly hard to move when time itself is frozen and the spell itself takes enormous mental and physical strength in order to maintain. when time is frozen and the caster is remaining still it's fairly simple.

However temporal magicks are forbidden for many reasons, Tatsumi had been studying time magicks for so long he understood the gravity of every spell, and would only use these kinds of magicks in a very specific way. he couldn't stop time and then touch a person, as it creates anomalies with severe consequences. either he froze time while holding onto someone allowing them the ability to perceive what is happening, or he had to release the spell and then touch a person. meaning in order for him to be moving so quickly without causing severe problems he had to allow some space between himself and Esdese between every blow and her reflexes were so finely tuned she was able to keep up even though he was moving at a literally impossible pace. But he still had an immeasurable advantage from the spell. He had all the time in the world to analyze every second of the fight, determining every forming peace of ice and shattering them before they could be used. He considered how to answer her for a moment and then he decided to unfreeze time and say "I guess you could say it's all a matter of timing." Nomic began to snigger and giggle off to the side.

Having analyzed her combat style Tatsumi believed he had devised a successful way to draw blood from her, and he had to utilize this now, the magick was taking its toll on him, if he didn't win soon he was going to crash. Relying purely on his own natural speed Tatsumi began to attack from all sides, moving at such high speeds that he appeared to be in seven places at once, Tatsumi began to rush Esdese until finally, she seemed to connect for the first time with her Ice. Tatsumi was blown back. Esdese smirked believing she had won. and then shock flashed across her face, she felt something warm trickling down her cheek, she wiped at it with her forefinger and saw blood.

* * *

}- P.S. -{

_Tatsumi_

Nearly collapsed on the ground from exhaustion and panting "well hallelujah." Esdese walked up to the young man still enraptured by the rush, and fixated on the blood on her finger "how?" Tatsumi's head raised a slightly to look at her. At least she thinks that was the point of it. "your ice comes to you like second nature. that entire fight was about making you focus on it. taking away the instinct in your ice so that I could capitalize on a pattern break. I was actually moving to that point from behind you when the ice hit me, as I moved in front and while your attention was focused on blocking major attacks, as well as forcing your ice through, I was able to scratch you, literally with a finger as I moved by. I win Esdese." Esdese was speechless staring I fascination at her own blood. Tatsumi had successfully earned her respect. But he also made an extreme mistake Here. Esdese now fully intended to break him by the end of the month.

Tatsumi had just set himself up to be the new prized prey of Esdese. He wasn't just any normal prey now. He wasn't just a goal. To Esdese breaking, Tatsumi was the ultimate hunt. The battle between the two alphas. He collapsed to the ground exhausted. Esdese walked over to him and picked him up, leaning into him she whispered into where his ear should supposedly be. "From this day forward Tat_su_mi, I am going to hunt you, do try to last a while before you break. it won't be as fun if you become my toy too soon." Inside his armor, Tatsumi blanched in fear before passing out.

A.N.

Thankyou to Grezna the Apocrolyph for betaing my story!

Bas = death

Aithreachas = regret

I also do not know how to make it more obvious who Gaithson, Nomic, and Necrosus are. And two of their names are puns. However, Nomic and Necrosus have a secret that was alluded to in this chapter. Props if you can guess what that secret is.

Before I forget, this is not a lemon fic. Sexual activities will be alluded to but not written out. This fanfic is rated M for violence, gore, and a lot of psych shit that I intend to go through. Little late in the story to warn, but this is a warning. This get's real starting in chapter 4. Though, maybe not so much in 5.

R&R

 **[discord** **.gg/7vvA3Ce]**


	5. Ch 4 Hell itself runs

Legend:

}-P.S-{ = perspective shift

{background actions or circumstances}

[Characters Writing or letters/notes]

(flashback)

author body note/commentary

*sound effect

^marks a phrase that can be translated from a real language^

/story break for a character/teigu/tentai heiki/monster breakdown/

BOLD: demon talking, outside force talking, basically anything not explicitly human talking

ITALICS: thoughts, expositional description, emphasis on a particular word

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the following original/fanfictional works: most of these will be referenced and inspired the story being written. All the credits for the original work go to the creators of their respective pieces. I hope that my story will be far enough removed from any individual story that it could become a file off the serial number work, but regardless it still pays homage to these great stories.

Undertale

Homestuck

Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy XII

Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy

+Anima

Akame Ga Kill

Colonel Saber: AGK fanfic

_Tatsumi_

Waking up and immediately sitting upright. Tatsumi cracks his neck to the left, and then cracks his neck to the right. Disturbing Nyau and River in the corner of the room, but Tatsumi was glad to note that his armor and helm were still on. It was probable that Esdese had respected their deal, and left his secret intact despite her desire to see his face. "I feel like I got hit by a fucking freight train." In the corner of the room, the Beasts sweatdropped. Esdese however had the look one might expect of a predator playing with it's food. "No just hit by me colonel." remembering what she had said before he had passed out Tatsumi started using various ambient spells to create a more relaxed atmosphere, hoping to try and prevent any provocation or allow any excuse for Esdese to sink her fangs into him. "I take it you didn't remove my helm?" Esdese sighed in annoyance. "You won our bet, I'll respect our wishes...for now." Tatsumi felt a little relieved.

Tatsumi stood and stretched out his arms and legs, further disturbing the three beasts as his body cracked and popped like shattering stone. Tatsumi took note that Daidara was back up and running. He personally trained the medical crew in healing magicks so he wasn't surprised, regardless he knew he had to have been out for quite some time. At this moment Tatsumi noticed Esdese's killing intent rising slightly. She was about to pounce. As luck would have it though a saving grace would come soon. The three beasts stiffened again, it would seem they would never grow used to Dr. Gaithson. "Commandant, are you prepared for your experiment" Gaithson you son of a bitch, thankyou, perfect timing. Oh thank God. "Already completed preparations doctor?" Esdese reigned in her will. She was curious of this Relic Gaithson and Tatsumi wanted her to see so much. "I'm sure you realize how intrigued I am for these experiments of yours, I always learn more about the old relics with each one."

"Esdese, earlier I mentioned a detour I had planned if you would accompany the doctor and I, we'd be most intrigued to see what your point of view on it is. I can assure you that you'll find it quite intriguing, and you may gain an ancient power out of the venture... At least if the doctor's hypothesis pans out." Esdese was intrigued. She knew that Tatsumi was a tactical Genius. However between the curiosity of this relic he was so interested in, and the confusion at the idea of him risking her gaining more power. She found herself at a loss, she knew that he had to be capable of using this power himself. And then there was significance in the fact that no person can use two teigu simultaneously. A fact that Tatsumi seemed to deliberately display ignorance of. Taken together this all had her well willing to look into this "experiment" as Tatsumi put it.

"You are aware that no human body can withstand the strain of using two teigu simultaneously, correct?" Gaithson raised an eyebrow at this. "Under normal circumstances yes, however, there are a few assumptions in that statement; one: the relic in question isn't a teigu, two: the relic is a self-sustaining biological weapon, and three: it's highly sentient." Tatsumi replied, giving light that he had been doing a rather extensive amount of research into the nature of the relics and teigu. Wind blew into the tent, causing the three beasts to shudder from the cold. There was s slight rattling sound coming from Gaithson.

Gaithson decided to step in to help his commandant explain the relic a little more precisely. "For you see general, this relic is more like a man-made danger beast, we call it Baphomet. it has no core like regular bio-teigu at the cost of far less substantial regenerative capabilities, however, this means close to nothing as the hide of the relic is more refined and 40 times stronger than diamond, alongside immense physical capability, being apparently indestructible, and an advanced intellect the relic has shown magical capacities as well." Esdese looked at Gaithson skeptically "How would you know that it holds no core if you cannot penetrate its hide?"

"We aren't trying to kill it Esdese. There are many kinds of magicks that allow us to learn more about an opponent, or just the world around us. An example of such are spells that allow the user extremely enhanced visual capabilities that allow x-ray vision. An ability akin to, and far more powerful than omnipotent 5-sights: spectator." Esdese was highly intrigued by this concept. The ability to replicate or even surpass the capabilities of a teigu, would be invaluable."Why are these magicks so uncommon? From what I've seen, such abilities would benefit the imperial army immensely." You mean they may push more people to be capable of giving you a challenge.

"Think of magicks as being like teigu, relatively few people are capable of using them effectively. They are largely based on creativity, an art that is surprisingly dead. But there are a plethora of other factors that heavily influence the use of magicks, such as the ability to handle the physical and mental strain of using magicks; hence why most people don't ever get past the basic stages. The most influential factor being that few people can generate Mist naturally, without mist no magic can be cast at all. Many people believe that the whole of the Autha-Gaulir are mages, but the truth of the matter is that just under a tenth of us can use magicks to any great degree." Esdese scoffed at the pessimism in this. "Ten-thousand people is still exponentially more in number than there are teigu users or teigu at all as a matter of fact."

"If you mean teigu as in the weapons made by the first emperor of the Etheralaine empire, then you are most certainly correct. However, we have found more than enough relics throughout the continent to cover the population of my legion, and from what we have discovered we haven't even scratched the surface of what is possible. Few people can use magicks, but an experienced mage can use magicks on tools for others to use, and we have replicated this ability from ages long since passed."

Esdese was actually very interested to see this side of Tatsumi, he sounded happy rather than the ever severe calm that he always held onto. Being who she was this didn't mean that she didn't take note of the fact that Tatsumi just alluded to the ability to create teigu. If he and his company had indeed discovered a way to manufacture more teigu. Honest would stop at nothing to gain the information for himself, as it would create a veritable goldmine of possibilities. As for her, she was more interested in the sources of these new weapons, and the original relics that inspire them. Though, this was information to be considered for a later date; for the time being, she would play along with him on his experiment and take every chance she could to learn more about him and his works. Now that he's proven capable of doing something otherwise considered impossible by drawing blood from her she was determined to break him. if only so that she can personally mold his potential until he could prove to truly challenge her.

Gaithson was studying the General very closely, after the sparring match between his close friend and this horrible demon he was quite worried. Her interest in his friend was quite disturbing, his abilities allowed him to tell how darkened her heart was, or at least to see the walls of darkness that surrounded her heart and soul. Gaithson would be damned before he allowed that darkness to consume Tatsumi. He had already spoken to the Wolves and Tatsumi's second in command, Cruxeis suggested that they resume their original role in Tatsumi's life.

Originally the wolves served to stand beside Tatsumi just as his friends, not as soldiers trying to help him reach his goal. There were simpler days when all of them worked to further each other and stuck together through thick and thin, and while each of them enjoyed and were dedicated to their cause. They all still missed those days of friendship with their dear colonel. They were a family, they were a pack, and they will not let Esdese take him away from them.

Cruxeis had put forth the idea of placing their cause to the sidelines quoting "Tatsumi brought us all together, he's been by our sides for years, helping us grow and learn. Taking on the burdens of others onto himself and asking for nothing in return. Now let's do the same for him." The wolves agreed that their family comes first, and so they began to plan and scheme ways to hinder Esdese and protect Tatsumi. But they didn't know what they truly had to protect him from. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, no matter how powerful you are, you can't protect someone from everything.

In the meantime, Gaithson, River, Esdese, and Tatsumi prepared for their detour. Tatsumi Gave Cruxeis his orders for the legion, in case the four of them didn't make it back from their venture in time for the operation. He also made it clear that he intended to be there to end the bandit fort alongside his soldiers. Three of whom enjoyed the feeling of the abrasive wind, but in Rivers case just caused him to remember the punishments of his failures.

Esdese took note of Cruxeis and the fact that she wasn't human. There were various species of higher intelligence throughout the empire but a prolifically small amount ever entered into the imperial army, much less made such a high position in it. Normally she wouldn't care about such matters but she had a suspicion about the Wolves thus far, in that they aren't strictly human. Given their capabilities, and the fish fins for ears on Cruxeis. Esdese was becoming more convinced of the possibility. She did wonder about whether or not other species might be more capable of magicks than humans. Which would bring far more credit to Tatsumi for his potential.

It was strange to her, she saw so much raw potential in him. He clearly wasn't like all of the other pissants she had come to expect in humanity, and yet he was hellbent on protecting these very ants he stood so far above.

* * *

As the four of them traveled down the road towards Aithreachas. Esdese decided to reflect back on Tatsumi. Because of her pensive reflection the company experienced a dead silence that was freaking the fuck out of her three companions. In River's case, he was worried about what could possibly cause His master to be so lost in thought. In Gaithson's and Tatsumi's case, they were concerned about impending doom. Esdese perked up smelling brimstone, it was very out of place in their snowy surroundings. She peered through the trees looking for the anomalous source of the smell. But the silence continued. Luckily for her three companions they arrived at their destination quickly, and what greeted Esdese's eyes was a magnificent Red scaled Dragon. It was much smaller than most other dragons but it's body was far more developed. It had a radiation of power to it.

The grin on her face was horrifying. Even to Baphomet who now felt the extreme survival instinct to get. The fuck. Out of there. "Esdese this is Baphomet. Not a danger beast. You...you can calm the killing intent..." "You can calm the killing intent..." "Calm the killing intent..." "CALM THE KILLING INTENT PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" Esdese finally snapped out of it glaring at Tatsumi. But he ignored her.

* * *

}-P.S-{

_Esdese_

She was elated by the Dragon and at the same time annoyed by Tatsumi. Here in this cave was a marvelous creature that she could hunt down and conquer. But Tatsumi was telling her to restrain herself. He had better have a good explanation for holding her back from her fun. "Baphomet, the dragon in front of us is a biological relic, not a danger beast. We have been attempting to bond him with someone for months now. As is obvious we have been unsuccessful. It is my hypothesis that he may respond better to a person of your caliber. However, he is a proud and powerful creature, much like you."

Esdese and Baphomet began to stare each other down now that she restrained her instinct and killing intent. A few minutes pass, both Gaithson and River becoming uncomfortable from the awkwardness of the situation. For Tatsumi, though, he could understand the unspoken dialogue occurring between the Dragon and Demon. In fact, Tatsumi was looking forward to how this played out. If only because he knew that this would force Esdese to view something as an equal in some regard. Between Esdese and Baphomet, was, in fact, a dialogue going on. Unknown to many was the fact that Baphomet is capable of conversation, but he speaks telepathically between people. The capability to hear him denoting the first test of compatibility. Esdese could hear him and was currently undergoing the second test.

"Tell me young one, you have no value in life, viewing all others incapable of becoming stronger as useless and unworthy of life. So What meaning is there in your life?" "Hmm, thus far I only find any real interest in life through war, especially if I am lucky enough to find someone who can truly challenge me." "Tatsumi you mean. I can see what you are capable of Yuki-onna, no other living human has the capability of challenging you. not naturally at least. Esdese offered what amounted to a mental smirk "But what of you, what exactly determines where your strength lies?" "My strength lies with three requirements. my wielder must be free, my wielder must respect my freedom, and most importantly my wielder must hold the spirit of a true dragon."

"The spirit of a dragon?" "We are creatures of the sky, we are unrestrained and free. we would rather die than be bound. We bow and belong to no one. But you do bow. You belong to this pathetic Empire, you are a pet, you are not free. Both you and The Boy would have been worthy wielders. But you are both shackled." "Shackled? Ara ara, you clearly do not see the truth. I may bow before the puppet, but the puppeteer would be nothing without me. I allow Him his power, I allow him to play as the one in control, but I do not belong to anyone. Before me, all will freeze. I do as I please, and no one can decide otherwise. Only one has ever defied me, but even he will fall."

"so you see the truth of the boy as well. It has always been strange to me. He bows but has never broken. He belongs nowhere, and to no one. Hn, perhaps you are worthy. you have conviction and determination. But I must wonder whether you truly hold a Dragons spirit." "Sounds to me like you want to take me for a flight. Baphomet offered a toothy fanged grin" "If you can handle flying with me then I will offer you my strength.

Muttering under his breath Tatsumi said "finally" Esdese climbed up the wing Baphomet offered to her, casually perching herself side saddle on Baphomet. "Rather arrogant aren't you?" Esdese Gave her trademark predatorial Extended his wings and pushed off from the ground. He expected Esdese to fly off but she seemed to ignore the effects of the wind around her. Instead, she took a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of flight.

Baphomet took note that Esdese seemed relaxed up here. Either because of the natural confidence in her capabilities of taking care of herself, or because she knew no one would attack her up here. She looked down below at the world. In a rare note of appreciation, she admired the beauty of the land. She felt rather at peace right now. "Wonderful feeling isn't it?"

Immediately Esdese reached for her rapier to take down the intruder, but she noticed that it was, in fact, Tatsumi who had somehow grown wings out of the back of his Armor. She was perplexed but she calmed back down and relaxed again enjoying the sensation of the wind in her hair. "...Yes. It is rather pleasant up here." Tatsumi let the feeling wash over him. He felt as much at home here as he would pretty much anywhere else."It's freedom Esdese, flight is the feeling of freedom. Up here no one controls us. We're free. We are at the mercy of the wind and wherever it takes us." Esdese took note of the peaceful Aura Tatsumi held. He had never been at peace near her, or at all to her knowledge

In her mind, she could hear Baphomet grumbling something about a "damn hatchling, bowing to others, worth so much more than them." Surprisingly, Esdese found herself agreeing with the dragon. This experience was entirely new to her, and she quite enjoyed the feeling in fact. She would never admit it but she was glad that Tatsumi would allow her the chance to bond with Baphomet. She may never have gotten the chance to experience this wonderful feeling otherwise. it was peaceful. If she was truly honest with herself in some way this felt like home. Unfortunately, this feeling wouldn't last. They had flown into a cloud of smoke. something was wrong.

The aura of peace Tatsumi held just a moment ago was gone, and it had been replaced by a cold rage Esdese had never seen in the young man. Esdese could see the autha Gaulir, as well as Gaithson and her three beasts down below. They were traveling fast towards the fire. She heard screams. The three landed on the plateaudown below. Baphomet had gone silent, but they both knew the bond was complete. They were now dragon and rider, but right now they had more pressing matters to deal with. Right then, Tatsumi had begun to leak out Killing intent unlike anything she had ever felt. For all her sadism and cruelty she had never felt such raw hatred in any Aura. Even to her, it felt dark. She wondered what was causing him to put this out.

They crashed down into the ground. Tatsumi immediately went to Cruxeis and asked what was happening. "Commandant! the Kim-un-Kur! They're being Slaughtered. It's the mortiferous squad!" The mortiferous squad is the Empires executioners. Honest had set Tatsumi up. But there was a cold rage in him. A fire burning black that had come to consume the world. Before Tatsumi could answer her or ask any more… "Oni-san...is that you?..."Tatsumi froze. Fear could be felt rolling off him. He ran up to the little boy calling to him. The boy was dying.

Tatsumi took off his helm.

Esdese wanted to approach Tatsumi if only for the chance to see his face but Baphomet held her back. "Even for one such as you, it is unwise to approach him right now." She could only see the back of Tatsumi's head, his close-cropped hair was standard for soldiers. She still had nothing remarkable to go off of, but she respected Baphomet's warning...for now. Anguish was rolling off of Tatsumi. His killing intent grew to the swirling mist that she had seen in the throne room. She could tell that he was at his breaking point. Off to the side, Cruxeis nodded to Gaithson, nomic and four other people. Cruxeis and three of them ran out of sight. Gaithson, nomic and a third stepped forward, all glowing blue, power rolling off of them. It began to storm. The snow around them was melting, Tatsumi's will was pushing outwards in a pulse.

Gaithson, Nomic and the third figure slammed their hands to the ground. Bones began to erupt around them. Esdese noted that bones were covering the field and formed a wall, the mortiferous squad was being cut off. Tatsumi stood, he was covered in such intense killing intent that his figure couldn't be clearly seen anymore. He stepped forward and passed the three wolves caging in the mortiferous squad. Esdese noted a faint glowing in the distance. Someone had just teleported away. The raw fury Tatsumi was emitting had her enraptured. It was... intoxicating.

The leader of the mortiferous squad, a man wielding the teigu Power surge: Balzac stepped forward. This was the leader of the mortiferous squad. behind him was the village, burned to the ground. The bodies of many impaled on pikes, skinned, whipped, flayed, and tormented before given the mercy of death. Broken bodies littered the ground...it was a total blood bath. A pile of defiled and broken women were in the middle of the now barren village. The ground soaked with their blood. "This village had been executed for treason to the empire. They have been harboring revolutionary soldiers. Move on Colonel you are un-needed here. These pissants will be dead soon." Tatsumi remained silent. Stone pillars erupted on either side of the man in front of him. Before the man could move chains began to bind him to the stones. Chains wrapped around his throat preventing him from speaking. "You think. That I will just allow you to walk away from this...I will give you despair. You will know the sorrow of my clan."

Tatsumi's killing intent erupted out of him and pushed all the way to the makeshift barrier made by his Soldiers. The Autha-Gaulir looked on solemnly. The land had begun to break apart from the pressure of his will. The land erupted in flame from his hatred, the mortiferous squad was systematically brought to its knees and bound between exemplification stones. Tatsumi began to chant. "Come forth from the Depths of the Aether, Anima, my mother. Lend me your strength and Power. Allow me to take your binding unto myself so that you may sow pain upon the foul souls of this world. Mother I call to you!"

A magic circle formed under Tatsumi. Esdese recognized this as eldritch runes from an age long passed. This was a summoning circle. An art that was supposed to be absolutely dead. Feared by all for the power that summoners could wield. Behind Tatsumi a portal opened, a chain fell from the raining sky into the darkness of the gate below. It latched onto something below. It began to raise. Chains emerging from the portal tearing into the ground around it. Darkness was rolling off of them...and then it came out. It was a creature unlike any she had ever seen. She began to shiver. She had never felt like this before. The creature was terrifying and dark. It felt inhuman, but far more disturbing to Esdese was the fact that she could see the creature held a human Aura. "That creature is, in fact, Tatsumi's birth mother, or at least what became of her. A lingering sentiment of her desire to protect him" Esdese ran forward. She wouldn't let Tatsumi be consumed by this darkness. Not before he belonged to her, but before she could reach him. "You stay out of this. This fight belongs to me."

He blitzed in and out of sight. Striking her no less than twenty-four times in the blink of an eye. Esdese was shocked. Tatsumi wasn't holding back at all anymore. She was blown back, and this time Baphomet physically restrained her. The pain started set in but she ignored it, even now. Tatsumi was still behind her, though she had to admit that with this power. He was only barely behind her. She had to have him, she had to save him. She Had to save Him! You can't...

"MOTHER!" The chains and binds of the creature that had risen from the depths of what must be Hell began to entangle themselves around Tatsumi. They burned away his armour and cut into his skin, but Tatsumi didn't care. The Darkness had consumed him. The hatred called for blood. "LET THEM FEEL OUR PAIN" A vortex formed around the visible eye of the creature. A sound like shattering glass rang out across the plateau. Suddenly, the entirety of the Mortiferous squad cried out in pain. Many were bleeding and had lacerations all over their bodies, many still were coughing up blood. And then the binds of the creature were fully removed. A sound like the wails of the Damned sounded.

Esdese was frozen. Tatsumi's killing intent covered his body like a second skin now. Even she had never gone this far. The raw Hatred and despair flowing off of him like a deluge was causing the land around him to crumble and rot. The arms of the creature reached out to Tatsumi and hugged him into the chest of the now freed demon. Darkness swirled around them. The wolves that had run off had returned. Cruxeis had tried to approach Tatsumi before being blown back. Beside his master and her new partner, river muttered. "Dear God..." Even Nyau looked on in horror at the site before him. Daidara looked solemn for once in his life.

Gaithson had apparently made his way directly Beside her. "There's no saving him now...I failed." A wail of pain tore itself from Tatsumi. It sounded broken. "FEEL OUR DESPAIR...die...die!DIE! GO HOME AND BURN!" An explosive force of Darkness erupted from Tatsumi and the creature he called mother. The field was covered in black flames of pure hatred. Another vortex formed around the visible eye of Anima, Tatsumi's mother. The sound of shattering glass ranf out again. Tatsumi and the creature disappeared in an instant leaving behind only his sword. The mortiferous squad were all frozen in one final nightmare. Forced to live the pains and sorrows of everyone they ever killed and tormented. Soon their minds would break and they would die.

Baphomet finally released Esdese. she ran forward looking around frantically for Tatsumi, still feeling the intense desire to protect him. Something she would eventually reflect upon in countless hours of confusion and wonder. "Where is he?" "Master-" "WHERE. IS. HE?" Gaithson stepped forward"He's gone Esdese. if he isn't dead he probably soon will be. That kind of power tears bodies apart." Gaithson calmly responded. She knew that his calm was a farce. She could see tears in his eyes. She could feel sorrow in the Entirety of the Autha-Gaulir. But she refused to believe he was dead. She could feel it. Esdese knew Tatsumi was still alive somewhere.

* * *

}-P.S-{

_?_

"What is this young man doing out here in the cold? Is he lost?" Miles away from the event that just happened Tatsumi's broken and weary body lay in the snow in an entirely different part of the world. The village elder of a small little hamlet had found him just outside of the village's borders. The boy had almost nothing to his name. Just a simple shirt and some pants. His body was covered in bruises. The village elder figured he must have been attacked by a danger beast and barely made it out with his life. So he had him taken in to be checked out by the villages' doctor and have him rest. The village elder had no idea what he had just taken in.

A.N.

Thank you to Grezna the Apocrolyph for Betaing my story.

R&R.

 **[discord** **.gg/7vvA3Ce]**


	6. Ch 5 Let your story begin

Legend:

}-P.S-{ = perspective shift

{background actions or circumstances}

[Characters Writing or letters/notes]

(flashback)

author body note/commentary

*sound effect

^marks a phrase that can be translated from a real language^

/story break for a character/teigu/tentai heiki/monster breakdown/

BOLD: demon talking, outside force talking, basically anything not explicitly human talking

ITALICS: thoughts, expositional description, emphasis on a particular word

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the following original/fanfictional works: most of these will be referenced and inspired the story being written. All the credits for the original work go to the creators of their respective pieces. I hope that my story will be far enough removed from any individual story that it could become a file off the serial number work, but regardless it still pays homage to these great stories.

Undertale

Homestuck

Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy XII

Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy

+Anima

Akame Ga Kill

Colonel Saber: AGK fanfic

-) 2 years later (-

The event that had occurred at Mt. Bas had become infamous throughout the etheralaine empire. With Esdese and even the three beasts in agreement, Tatsumi had been Honorarily promoted to General. The official reason was for dying in the line of duty to bring justice to the traitorous Mortiferous squad. However, for the Autha-Gaulir and Esdese, it was widely known that Honest was using his promotion for his own ends. Without Tatsumi to contest him, Honest was able to use his reputation to instill fear in the people. The message was simple. No one can protect you now.

But something Honest could never change was the Autha-Gaulir themselves. The thirty wolves had thrown themselves into Tatsumi's dream, and now officially operated under General Budou, who was well aware of, and turned a blind eye to, most of the actual work they did. Honest tried to put them on a leash, or at least heel them, but what he found was that anyone he sent would be found dead, or never found at all. The Autha-Gaulir was still a beacon of hope for the people. Unfortunately, while Honest couldn't control them or shut them down, he did limit them significantly through Emperor Makoto. Without Tatsumi, Honest had what was a nearly absolute grip on the boy.

Tatsumi himself, however, had carved a surprisingly normal life in the village that had picked him up. Or at least as normal as an amnesiac soldier who regularly hunted down high-class danger beasts either as meals or for money to help them out with financial issues. Despite the help he offered to the village He was rather reclusive, always told everyone that it was because of the nightmares. Of course between the hunting bounties and the coffee crops he came up with out of nowhere bringing income to the village, most of the villagers were content to leave him be. Only four people ever really broke the solitude; The village chief, two young adults: Sayo and Ieyasu, and their Teacher: a retired soldier from the empire. In the chiefs case, he was always checking in to see if Tatsumi's Amnesia had gotten better and to thank him for his help in the village.

As for The two Youths Teacher, he was always stopping by to offer his help to Tatsumi, determined to try and prove he knew something more than the mysterious young man. He only succeeded in proving that he knew more about cooking. Tatsumi had still taken to it rather quickly, of course, much to the old soldier's annoyance, but they had gotten fairly close through the old man's lessons. they had made a habit of cooking one of Tatsumi's kills every couple of days and relaxing together. Tatsumi found the old man's stories about the Imperial army fascinating, and nostalgic. But then there were the two youths, Sayo and Ieyasu. They had grown rather close to Tatsumi and become his friends.

Sometimes they went along on hunts with him and tried to learn everything they could about surviving from him, and eventually, they didn't have to sneak around or follow him to do so. Tatsumi was reluctant at first but he opened up to them and accepted them as friends over the many months he spent in the village. They even convinced him to come along and join the imperial army with them. And this brings us to the current day. Tatsumi, Sayo, and Ieyasu had prepared for their departure and were currently talking with the Village chief before heading out. saying goodbye to a home they had no idea when they would see again. If they would see it again. Though, Sayo and Ieyasu were a bit freaked out by Tatsumi right now: on one hand the only thing he really had that kept the cold out was a frayed ended gray long coat made from the various Danger beasts he'd killed over the past two years. aside from that, he was wearing some normal sweatpants, boots, and a thin black V-neck shirt. He wore the coat open so in their minds, he should be freezing to death...they wondered what was in his coffee. They were also wondering this because his backpack was the size of a human and weighed more than four people could simultaneously hold. Really, they were currently just wondering if Tatsumi was human. somewhere their teacher was chuckling.

_Tatsumi_

The village elder had just handed Him a statue saying it was a lucky charm from a major religion that had been spreading, they called themselves the path of peace. Tatsumi recognized that really they were a pagan group that had gained traction being a 'neutral' peaceful political faction. They were allowed to roam because it was far more difficult to attack a religion than it was to attack a political party. Tatsumi wasn't really a fan of them. When asked why he wouldn't answer he would just grip the cross that he wore around his neck. "I know you don't care for them but we want you to carry this symbol with you for protection. if times get hard-" Tatsumi remained seemingly absent-minded. "Sell it." The chief panicked "NO!" Tatsumi smiled indicating a more playful intention. "I'm joking old man, I appreciate the gesture." *sigh "good luck you Three, be sure to let us know what goes on if you ever can." Tatsumi took in the village that had become his home for two years. Breathing in the smell of the autumn crops, the snow had already begun but winter hadn't hit yet.

"Don't worry old man we can take care of ourselves, Teacher has been preparing us for years, and we have Tatsumi to look after us." piped up Sayo enthusiastically. "COME ON OLD MAN WE"LL BE FINE, WE"RE PUMPED, AREN'T YOU PUMPED, I'M PUMPED, I'M SO PUMPED, SOOOOOO PUUUUUUUUUUMPED!" Ieyasu screamed like a deranged animal. Ieyasu's bloodshot eyes roll back into his head as he begins to twitch uncontrollably, veins popping out from his neck and forehead. with his ears ringing the village elder turned back to the village grumbling about youths not respecting their elders. Tatsumi gave a small smile before turning to the road ahead. He grabbed the back of Ieyasu's shuddering bag and began to drag the lunatic along the road to the capitol. Sayo skipped beside him humming happily.

some hours pass on the road, the three friends talk about their hopes when they get to the capital, Sayo was hoping to get into the imperial infantry, and maybe make her way up into the various Sniping programs. She well and truly loved all ranged weapons. Though she only had real experience with the Various bows and crossbows that existed. Guns were a much more rare commodity in the empire, really you either made one yourself like Tatsumi had done, or you got one through the Empire. Tatsumi had made a gun for her, but the bullets were hard to make and specialized from aquatic danger beast bones. Beasts she was very poor at hunting herself. Because of this, and her desire not to become reliant on Tatsumi she held onto the gun as a keepsake more than anything else.

Ieyasu was hoping for frontlines or cavalry. He was much more physically inclined in combat than tactical. really he just wanted to swing his ax around. swing his ax around and scream about being pumped. Tatsumi actually considered Ieyasu for a bit. really all he needed was to be able to open his mouth. if he didn't scare his enemies away with how crazy he was he was likely to make their heads explode from the sheer concussive force of his voice. and sadly it would be at this moment that Ieyasu would let loose an Ungodly scream into the heavens. something of such proportions that the echo would ring out through the ages, transcending reality itself and baffling many poor souls for all eternity. "I AM SO FUCKING PUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMPED FUCK YEAH SOOOOO PUUUUUUUUUUMPED BITCHES!"

Sayo looked at Ieyasu in horror. "what. in. the actual fuck. is wrong with you Ieyasu..." Tatsumi slapped the back of Ieyasu's head "Ieyasu you moron, do you have any idea who else, or what else, could have heard that. you just put a target on us." Tatsumi's said berating Ieyasu for his outburst. "But I'm so excited" Ieyasu replies dejectedly like a saddened puppy." Sayo and Tatsumi sweatdropped at the sheer stupidity at all of this. Unfortunately, Tatsumi had hit the nail on the head, bandits began to surround them on all sides. Sighing Tatsumi begins to palm throwing needles.

"Split up, they'll have a harder time dealing with us and the danger beasts that have to be coming right now, we'll meet back up at the Capital. Sayo had leaped away into the trees bolting away as fast as possible and firing crossbow bolts into her pursuers. Ieyasu slashed at people as he dashed into the woods. Tatsumi appeared rather disinterested as he lazily threw needles through the skulls of the bandits surrounding him, he began to lead a majority of them down the main road. slowly picking them off one by one as he led them away. miles down the road the last three bandits were chasing him, he knew that there was no chance that his two companions have died, but he was still worried. he still had several thousand needles left but he decided to just finish off the last three with a quick lightning spell rather than waste more material on small fry. slowing to a halt and then raiding the bandit's equipment, he sighed to himself. he had faith in his two friends, but he really wished Ieyasu hadn't been an idiot and screamed randomly.

* * *

what kind of plot convenience bullshit is this anyways Ieyasu's a moron but he isn't normally this stupid... I think... I have only been with him for two years...not like they were childhood friends or something...why am I thinking this again? Tatsumi put all notions of the fourth wall and alternate dimensional histories out of his mind and continued down the road to the capital. still worried about his friends but determined to make up some time and just bolt towards the capital and greet his friends at the gate. Unfortunately for him, his journey would be plagued with merchants and travelers needing help, Danger beasts, and the occasional bandit that couldn't take a hint.

Two weeks later he would find himself dragging a sled that he earned by helping people on the road, it held various things that made travel more comfortable for him, at the cost of slowing him down a bit because he had to drag it behind him.

Why do I have to help everyone I see. I mean really helping them isn't all that bad but why do they insist on giving me random shit. I didn't need a mobile bedroom. I also didn't need every kind of alcohol known to humanity. And what's with all the Alcohol merchants anyways. I could make a margarita of pain at this point...or start a nice wine cellar. I do like all the coffee I've gotten though It was perhaps important to note that Tatsumi was extremely addicted to coffee.

As his journey had been more than stressful enough from helping out so many people and dealing with what was generally just an abnormal level of Bullshit, Tatsumi Had cracked open a bottle of Sake. An in the process discovered that he never got further than a low buzz. probably a good thing that he couldn't get drunk, but that doesn't mean it can't annoy him. He sped up a little seeing the capital in the distance, and then came upon a horse-drawn cart. Immediately he began to sigh in annoyance. The horses were acting nervous. which means...* GRRCK CRRRRK CRGK *GRAAAAAUGH A B-class danger beast, an Earth Dragon, erupted from the ground.

Tatsumi just decided to cut the middleman, his Sake bottle was already empty. He hurled the sake bottle at the dangerous beast. at first, the two people in the cart thought he was insane. and then the bottle left his hand. *Bang the bottle flew at the danger beast in a blur, when it hit the danger beast head, it and the danger beasts head blew up. The two men looked at Tatsumi in awe. "Don't thank me, don't give me anything. I'm fine. I have more than enough. just let me be on my way." They tried to stop and ask him where he was going but thought better of it. probably not the wisest idea to annoy someone that could make a danger beasts head explode by throwing a glass jar at it. They decided that they would be better off letting their superiors in the Imperial army Know about a young man with immense skill roaming around the capital.

* * *

Tatsumi had finally reached the Capital. Immediately he tracked down a good hiding place to hide all of his crap and then used magick to hide it all from prying eyes. he'd been wondering about all the magicks he knew for quite some time now but chalked it up to being something that had been developed before he lost his memory. strangely enough pretty much no one ever saw him using it so he has no idea how rare of an ability being able to use advanced magicks were.

After having stashed everything important away he raced towards a recruiter trying to see if his friends had made it there before him. at the recruiters, though he was greeted with a strange experience, he'd asked about his friends. and the recruiter had said no. but when the recruiter looked up he screamed something about ghosts and threw Tatsumi out. so now we find our hero on the side of the street worried for his friends with a massive migraine from dealing with people's random bullshit.

while Tatsumi was rubbing his temples thinking through what to do to find his friends when a shadow fell over him. he looked up and cracked his neck to the side. that has to be painful on the lower spine. "Didja get kicked out of the recruiter's office? I can help you out with that" Tatsumi's mind jumped to a conclusion and he spoke offhandedly "If you're looking for a massage I do not know how to help you. I doubt that it would do more than temporarily alleviate the pain" The blond girl sweatdropped and then grabbed Tatsumi by the Collar. "Just for that, you're buying me lunch." she tried to drag him off but found he was rather immovable, he calmly stood up, sighing. "My apologies, lead the way." Tatsumi noted that she smelled a lot like a cat, and hot springs. Tatsumi followed her along to the Bar she wanted, glad to get out of the crowded streets. He was rather bother by the feeling of fear that permeated the auras around him. This place felt broken-hearted.

She had to admit she was surprised. But she wasn't going to complain about a free meal and drinks. But now she also found herself very curious about the young man. To herself Leone was thinking that he was rather handsome and something in her was pulling to learn more about him. She felt some familiarity around him, as if she had met him before or something. She figured this was probably the influence of Her Teigu. which in one way worried her because that means she may have been forming a much stronger bond than normal with her teigu. But for now, she decided she would take advantage of the situation and get what she could out of it.

* * *

_Leone_

Ok this boy must be rich, he's been able to keep up with my appetite and still doesn't look worried. and damn it he still isn't drunk...Only Akame, Bulat and Boss have ever outlasted me... I have to get something out of this. I was hoping i could get him drunk and maybe mess with him by having him give me a massage... Tatsumi shuddered watching the various shifts occurring in Leone's Aura, he couldn't tell if she was horny, insane, a spy, or whatever. "You said you were looking for some friends of yours? Are you sure that they made it here?" Tatsumi's hair fell to shade his eyes. His hint to her that she should tread lightly in this subject."They were strong enough to take care of themselves so yes I'm certain they made it to the capital."

Leone leaned onto the table displaying a generous amount of her cleavage. To her annoyance, this didn't draw any attention from the boy who was staring absentmindedly outside, while he swirled a glass of wine. But she still spoke in a friendly manner, trying to get whatever she could out of Tatsumi. "Maybe Onee-chan can help you out with that, I have a lot of connections in the capital, we may be able to find your friends for you if you make it worth our while." Tatsumi thought this over for while before making up his mind. he was more than well aware that this woman was trying to scam him. but he also knew that a lot of things could push her to do so, and it wasn't like he ever found himself short on money, he could always find bounties on danger beasts and make money easily. in the end, he decided he would give her some money, and also get a little bit of revenge for scamming him, the bag he handed her was half filled with small rocks, and half filled with gold coins.

"If you manage to find my friends there will be more in it for you." Leone looked surprised at the act of trust. She had expected she would need to work a little harder to convince him. Since obviously her assets weren't really working. "Stay here for a while I'll come back and Onee-chan will let you know what we find." discreetly Leone signalled someone under the table. Tatsumi noticed this but didn't give any indication of his knowledge. "She felt bad tricking him by using his friends but she did have jobs to do and in the grand scheme of things he would probably be fine. Leone was furious she didn't get to learn anything about him though. But she let it go...for now." It would seem a lot of things usually set themselves up to be resolved or continued at a later date regarding the young man.

* * *

_Tatsumi_

Tatsumi sat around the bar for a while longer enjoying the peace of his solitude while planning out what to do next. soon enough though he was approached by a green haired bartender, presumably the owner of the establishment. he was cleaning glasses and prepping the bar for close. "Hey buddy, I think you just got all of your money stolen," Tatsumi replied without missing a beat, clearly unbothered. "If you're referring to the woman who I just handed a bag half filled with rocks then I haven't really lost anything important. Of course, the real question will be if she realizes the value of those rocks." The green haired man was bewildered. "I beg your pardon?" Tatsumi took a rock out from his pocket, the same kind that was in that bag. he pinched it between four fingers and cracked it like an eggshell, the inside was filled with diamond. "Where did you get your hands on that?!" Tatsumi smirked "Oh, they're surprisingly common if you know where to look."

Tatsumi stood to leave the bar, he left what amounted to a 100% tip and left a few of those rocks on the table, he gave the green haired man a sly wink before disappearing into a crowd outside. Tatsumi would spend the rest of the day wandering around looking for his friends. He wouldn't have any luck. However, Tatsumi noticed that some shopkeepers and various citizens were nervous or lying when he asked about them. He was becoming really worried about his friends now. As it had gotten really late Tatsumi decided to take a rest against a wall before he would go to the alley where he hid everything and rest for the night. He had planned to Roof hope and get a feel for the Capitals layout but a carriage drew up and stopped near him. Immediately Tatsumi was on edge. He smelt blood. faint, but it was there.

A young woman exited the Carriage and approached him. she smelt sickly, but Tatsumi knew she wasn't sick. Her aura was tainted it reeked of sadism and pain. He didn't want to be around this girl. "Hey, there mister-" Tatsumi cut her off, attempting to make her go away "I have no money" She was a little annoyed at having been cut off "Of course not, you wouldn't be sleeping out here if you did" Tatsumi decided that maybe the truth would dissuade her "I'm just taking a break before I turn in for tonight." but she clearly thought he was lying. "Oh I know you don't live here mister, you don't have to lie to me." Tatsumi was becoming increasingly tempted to bolt away."You should just go with her mister, she's not going to just let this go." a guard who followed her from the carriage piped up "It'll be a warm bed and a decent meal a the very least." Tatsumi's eye was twitching at this point "I don't have the time nor the interest, I have to find my friends."

"Your friends? maybe we can help!" she just doesn't let up, what the hell does she want from me? Tatsumi decided to just level a blank look at all of them "..." Tatsumi got up and tried to leave, but found himself blocked off by the girl. "I'm not letting you go until you allow me to help you." She had no idea how close to being killed she , Tatsumi finally acquiesced. If only because murder wasn't legal. regardless of the civil service, he would be doing for everyone...this didn't mean he wouldn't try to burn her house to the ground and escape before anyone knew...Her aura was bothering him immensely, there had to be something horrifyingly wrong with her. She revealed herself to be Aria Harvard, the heiress to a wealthy trading family in the Capital. Tatsumi figured that might explain why she smelt sickly, it was possible her family dealt in trading in the medicinal field. and the blood could be explained...in...other...ways. But it didn't explain the poisoned Aura. Regardless he still never let his Guard down.

When they arrived at the Harvard mansion Tatsumi almost keeled over and threw up, the place reeked of death. Tatsumi didn't trust anything or anyone at all here. So even while he conversed cordially with the Family and acted politely, his every instinct was to burn the place to the ground and consider it cleansed. for the time being, however, he would stick around and try to learn more and figure out what was so wrong with the place. Aria's father asked him about his plans in the capital. Tatsumi recanted his journey to the capital, detailing his friends desire to join the imperial army with him and gain fame in the Capital as soldiers. "Oh? But we're surrounded by three Tribes in a five-way war, how can we know that you aren't a turn coat or spy?" Tatsumi pulsed out his killing intent. Causing everyone in the mansion to see visions of death. "If i wanted you dead, you'd already be six feet under. I'm an amnesiac, and an orphan i have nowhere to belong and belong to no one." The Harvard's got the point, even if they were a bit confused at his wording. They had lost their appetites after experiencing the force of his will.

the next day he had tagged onto Aria's entourage so that he could learn more about the capital and look for his friends. at some point, some posters caught his eyes. "That's Night Raid. A group of assassins who go around killing innocent people at random in the capital. They attack in the dead of night with not even the slightest sound. They're dangerous and skilled." Tatsumi snorted derisively "So good target practice." The guard who had spoken to him about Night Raid looked at him like he was insane. "N...no, A..anyways, what I wanted to tell you was to look up there." the guard pointed to a massive building in the distance. "that is the Imperial Palace." Tatsumi was curious about this. But still took note of the looks of worry that began to pop up on many of the faces in the crowd with the talk of Night Raid."Where the Emperor Controls the Empire." "Not exactly the Emperor is still a young man not even past his teen yet. The country is controlled by the Prime minister. He uses the Emperor as little more than a puppet."

"Hn, no wonder everything's gone to shit." The guard looked at Tatsumi uncomfortably, wondering if the boy was suicidal or if he should be scared of the boy. Really the only thing the guard could gather was that Tatsumi held no fear of anything in the capital. "for now let's just deal with that." The Guard said pointing to the mountain of boxes and shopping bags in the arms of two of Aria's poor guards while she skipped along her merry way. Tatsumi Sighed and sweatdropped. But he proceeded to spend the next hour Tetrising the Shit out of all of the boxes and bags until they fit nice and neatly onto the carriage. The rest of the day was rather uneventful. But Tatsumi was still extremely wary of the Harvard's. Everything about them seemed off and he still couldn't find an explanation for the sickening aura's they held. Everything he knew would place people like them as heartless monsters. He decided he would figure out what was actually going on one way or another tonight.

Dinner rolls around and he sits quietly at the table contemplating everything that had gone on in the past few weeks. He felt sick for his friends. And he also felt rather strange at that thought. It was weird for him to feel so attached to someone. He had to find them. For now, he had to deal with the Poison in the food though. It had no effect on him. Having dealt with Althrea Serpent-wyverns on a few of his hunts had immunized him to all poisons. kind of helps when you eat the most lethally venomous creature on the planet. The very same creature that was used to Create the Murasame Blade as it would turn out. He considered Althrea for a moment. It brought up memories for some reason. His mind recalled images of a legion in a desert. He remembered a girl, he couldn't quite make out what she looked like in his memories. Someone else was with her. It might have been another girl. Or just an oversized teddy bear. But there was blood everywhere, the girls were cowering. And then the memories cutoff.

The Harvard's were sweating, they had put a rather extreme dosage of the poison into his food, and Tatsumi showed absolutely no reaction. They had begun to figure that they may have finally bitten off more than they could chew. they hoped that they would be able to get him to leave soon and that nothing would come of it. Unfortunately for them, fate has other plans. Tatsumi had retired to his room. intent on waiting for a little while and then finding out about poison, and more importantly what was actually going on in the Harvard family. he felt a slight shudder run through him.

in another part of the Hall Ms. Harvard, Aria's mother was writing in her Diary. until she was bisected by a woman dress head to toe in lavender wielding an oversized pair of scissors. The woman flung the blood off of her weapon. monotonously calling out in a sweetened dead calm. "I'm sorry". Tatsumi looked out of his window taking note of several figures balancing on needle thing wires. "So this is night raid Huh? random indeed" had anyone been there to hear him they may have taken note of the slight tone of sarcasm to his voice.

Tatsumi noticed A guard dragging aria away into the woods. popping his window open Tatsumi slid outside quietly. finally giving into temptation and starting a small fire in his room. He knew he was on a time limit before the fire would spread and the smoke would attract attention to the site. Tatsumi ran to tail the guard and aria keeping a fair distance away to see where they went. soon enough they came upon a shed in the middle of the forest outside of their house. Tatsumi felt nauseated. the smell was unbearable. before the two could make it inside however a young woman dropped out of nowhere. Tatsumi figured he may be able to learn more from this encounter so he decided to step in.

* * *

_?_

The raven-haired girl darted forward. intent on killing the two targets in front of her. a slight sound was all she heard. she jumped back. a young man was in front of her with a broadsword drawn. He was calm. He wasn't a target. She dashed forward planning to springboard off him. As she jumped off the ground to get over him He grabbed her leg and threw her back. "Akame of Night Raid Right? I'll be your opponent...for now." she reevaluated the situation "...Target..." Akame dashed forward to slash at the boy but found that he was able to keep her pace easily, she was only barely able to keep him from landing any strikes on her. She only had to land one on him but found that she couldn't get even close. It seems that he was studying her as he kept her from making any ground. In some ways this felt familiar. She remembered some of her first days as a killer, back to when she was first trained. Shaking these thoughts out of her mind she decided to try and learn about him. "Why do you protect them?" Tatsumi's answer opposed her perceptions on the matter "Consider our fight more about curiosity than protection." wind blew throughout the field. Tatsumi smelt blood and plague. He decided it was time to end his spar. He had something more important to deal with.

the boy's stance changed relaxing a slight bit. Akame pounced on the chance. she thrust her blade forward and began to pierce his skin. The boy grabbed onto the blade as it passed between his clavicle and shoulder blade. missing and major organs or vital areas as it had only pierced his shoulder. it didn't matter the poison would set in soon. Or so she thought.

* * *

_Tatsumi_

The blade hurt Tatsumi a bit but he held on tightly making sure to get a grasp on the hilt as the girl got close enough. "Poisoned right?" he knew the answer"Mhmm" Tatsumi gave an almost feral smile."I'm immune" Tatsumi hiked his front leg and slammed it into Akame launching her back several yards. he unsheathed Murasame from his shoulder and flung the blood off of it. he admired the beautiful sword. he gave a quick sniff of the air around it. and then he flipped the blade sot heat he was wielding it backhanded in hir right hand. his broadsword already sheathed again. Akame was panicking, this wasn't possible. "how are you alive, murasame is supposed to kill in one cut? he pulled his jacket and shirt away to reveal the puncture wound. the poison marks had stopped very shortly from the wound itself. and were already receding. " I have hunted and eaten the danger beasts that this venom comes from." eventually I built up a tolerance to all poisons by consuming the trace amount found throughout their bodies as well as adapting their antibodies into my bloodstream." Akame felt a rather strong survival need arise in her. She didn't want to die. But to her surprise Tatsumi didn't approach her, he had dismissed her.

Tatsumi turned around and began to approach the shed. Aria stood frozen in fear. He moved to open the door. to his left, the guard fumbled with his gun trying to shoot Tatsumi. Tatsumi's left arm shot out rapidly. a needle flying from his hand through the skull of the guard. The guards body crumpled. Aria almost screamed. She barely held herself back. bringing his arm back in he gave a small punch to the door blowing it open and shattering the wood. He wasn't as surprised as he wished he could be by what greeted him. Mutilated corpses littered the shed. some were infected with diseases. some had been tortured. every form of depraved sadism lay on display in the hellhole before him. He looked over at a cage in the shed. He blood froze. behind him, Leone, the woman from earlier had helped up her friend Akame. they were quietly watching the young man. Leone kept a close eye on Aria making sure she didn't bolt.

Tatsumi grabbed the cage door and ripped it out of the ground tossing it inside as he picked up his friend of two years. "I...Ieyasu..." "H...H...Hey...T...Tatsumi...You...Made...It..." "Where's Sayo?..." "She...She...got away...somehow...You...should have...Seen her...she was amazing...She never gave in...She...never gave them the satisfaction...I made...her promise...to leave...leave me...behind." "It's going to be ok, you're going to make it through this...we're going to find her together ok..." "Heh...Heh...I'm...not...Going...to...survive...Tatsumi...I'm just...glad...I got...To see...You..." Behind them, Aria had tried to sneak off. Leone had caught her and was slight crushing her skull under what was now a paw.

"Just what the fuck do you think you're trying to do" Aria whimpered in fear. Akame chose to speak and inform the young man of what she knew. "He's been infected with the Rubbola virus, it's already progressed into its final stages, he's only alive through sheer will by now. the family infected various people that they picked up off the streets with viruses like this to see their effects on people." Aria batted herself away from Leone and began to scream "We did no such thing! Tatsumi who are you going to bel_" "I've smelt death on you from the moment you approached me. I knew something was wrong with your family. and I knew you tried to poison me. I would have found out. I would have killed you myself, Night raid just got there first."

Darkness swirled in a vortex around Tatsumi's right arm. *BANG, a screeching sound of shattering class rang out. All of a sudden Aria was pinned to a tree some yards away, with murasame nailing her there up to the tsuba. Black fire was around her in small packs burning away at various patches of skin and around the blade itself. Tatsumi walked up to Aria and gripped Murasame's hilt. the poison had set in. "Burn in hell bitch." the wind had gone cold.

Tatsumi slowly pulled the sword out of the tree and Aria. she slumped lifelessly to the ground. Tatsumi cleaned murasame off on his forearm, despite protests from Leone who hadn't been there to see him be impaled by the blade and survive. He walked over to Akame and flipped murasame around so that he was holding the blade, and offered her the hilt. He looked over to Leone studying her for a second. "You're the woman from earlier."

"Yep, I'm the beautiful Onee-chan!" Leone chimed, very much unbothered by the display of brutality. "Hn." Tatsumi began to walk away towards Ieyasu. he had died with a smile on his face. Damn it Ieyasu… Memories of corpses inundated Tatsumi's mind. He couldn't tell if these were people he killed, or people he failed to save. But they were the same corpses in his nightmares, the reason he couldn't sleep. Ieyasu was a member of them now. Tatsumi made to lean down and pick him up. Leone wrapped an arm around him trying to drag him off "You're coming with us buddy we could real_grk" Tatsumi threw her off of him. An armored man emerged from the trees Wary of the young man who had just tossed Leone off of him like a rag doll. Akame seemed hesitant. His tone was cold. It held no life to it "Do not get in my way. Leave me alone. Tatsumi picked up Ieyasu and walked off into the woods.

_Akame_

"Should we really let him go" Akame stared at the young man as he disappeared into the woods "Ow..." Leone whimpered falling out of the tree she had been thrown into. "It would probably be in our best interest to leave him be for now. The Armoured man replied placing a hand on her shoulder. Akame left with her two companions. wondering about that boy He reminded her of someone. she couldn't shake the feeling that she knew him.

* * *

\- ) two days later ( -

_Tatsumi_

Tatsumi was overlooking a precipice near where he had buried Ieyasu. He was eating the meat of a danger beast he had hunted down. Ieyasu's grave was marked by the idol that the village elder had given him. Behind him, he heard a slight sound. he looked behind him and say the raven-haired girl from the other night. she had stars in her eyes. " teach me how to make this" Tatsumi was bewildered, both by the fact that she had found him, and the clear comfort she had in approaching him"Excuse me!?" it was then that Tatsumi noticed all of the other meat he had been cooking was gone. and the bones had littered the ground. "Did you eat all of my meat!?"

Akame never answered. she just grabbed Tatsumi by the collar. Tatsumi expected this go the same way it always did with him not moving an inch and her being confused. imagine his surprise when he felt himself get pulled off balance and his entire surrounding changed in the blink of an eye. Tree branches whipped into his body, small cuts appeared everywhere "What the fuck?!" Tatsumi took note of the stone walls now surrounding him all of a sudden, he smelt fire. "Teach me!" Akame had dragged him into a kitchen.

A.N.

Thank you to Grezna the Apocrolyph for betaing my story.

This fanfic is on , AO3, and wattpad.

Holy crap this was a long chapter for me. If anyone is noticing a bit of a change in how Tatsumi is acting in this chapter, he has lost his memories and has only known his life for the past two years. The only things he has to indicate anything about his past are the nightmares that keep him awake at night. HE can't sleep because all he ever sees are people who he has killed, or failed to save.

check out this forum, by fanfic writers for fanfic reader/writers.

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I hope everyone's enjoying my story so far. points to you if you get where the name of this chapter came from and why this chapter is named the way it is. my one hint is Youtube.

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	7. Ch 6 Path of Carnage my ass

Legend:

}-P.S-{ = perspective shift

{background actions or circumstances}

[Characters Writing or letters/notes]

(flashback)

author body note/commentary

*sound effect

^marks a phrase that can be translated from a real language^

/story break for a character/teigu/tentai heiki/monster breakdown/

BOLD: demon talking, outside force talking, basically anything not explicitly human talking

ITALICS: thoughts, expositional description, emphasis on a particular word

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the following original/fanfictional works: most of these will be referenced and inspired the story being written. All the credits for the original work go to the creators of their respective pieces. I hope that my story will be far enough removed from any individual story that it could become a file off the serial number work, but regardless it still pays homage to these great stories.

Undertale

Homestuck

Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy XII

Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy

Prey

+Anima

Akame Ga Kill

Colonel Saber: AGK fanfic

_Tatsumi_

Tatsumi was rapidly assessing his situation. He had been dragged into what he presumed to be the base of Night Raid. He had to get out of here. "Food!" Akame was staring at him expectantly pointing to an ice room filled with meat of every variety, she was bouncing on her toes excitedly. "E...excuse me?" There was only one door in the kitchen.. He began backing away from Akame preparing himself to bolt. She was suddenly centimeters from his face. Holy shit! "Food!" Akame had stars in her eyes. He noticed Her eyes were actually quite beautiful. But this was irrelevant, he noticed there wasn't a window for him to take a swan dive out of and escape. Tatsumi had never felt so incredibly like prey before. He edged his way over towards the door and turned to get the fuck out of there.

A man with some unique red goggles on his head looked on in the dining room a the resulting scene. He nibbled on his crumpet as it unfolded. Tatsumi took one step forward, time appeared to slow down, as Tatsumi began to run forward passing by the green haired man he recognised as the bartender from the capital, a look of confusion passing on Tatsumi's face as he attempted his escape. Like a cheetah leaping onto a gazelle of the Serengeti she came, her arms were outstretched, stars still shining in her crimson eyes as she descended in like a bird of prey the verdigris haired man took another bite of his crumpet as he looked on in amusement. She crashed into Tatsumi screaming "FOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!" whilst knocking him down. A look of horror was plain on Tatsumi's face "FUCK!". Tatsumi clawed the ground as Akame dragged her kill back into the kitchen. She was giggling in a horrifying mixture of maniacal girliness. **"Hehehe** **foooooood.** " The Bartender took another bite of his crumpet. He would have helped Tatsumi out, especially because of the possible monetary benefit of having him as an ally, but he wasn't suicidal. Nobody gets in the way of Akame's food.

* * *

Crashing could be heard throughout the building accompanied by screaming. Tatsumi, for once in his known life felt afraid. He had come to learn that Akame was relentless. Everywhere he turned to escape she was there. He had cooked for hours trying to satiate her appetite before he was granted relief. Akame skipped out of the kitchen happily. Humming to herself as she left. He was becoming really tired of the stone walls he'd been trapped in. Believing himself finally free to leave, he rounded a corner only to be met with the buxom hellhound that had captured him. "Oh for the love of... let me go I am not staying here!" the raven-haired girl deadpanned and grabbed his arm, beginning to drag him through the halls of Night Raid. Tatsumi just growled and tried to pry himself from Akame's grip. They rounded a corner and Tatsumi himself face to face with a violently violet clothed woman. Akame finally released him, stepping forward to hug the Lavender clad woman. He palmed a few needles prepping himself to claw his way out. He felt uncomfortable. He didn't really care about them or what they did. He just wanted to find Sayo. He would prefer to leave without taking any lives. His nightmares were already haunted enough by the dead.

The violaceous woman tilted her head to the side "oh, are you joining us?" Her sweet smile was off-putting to Tatsumi, and he couldn't get a read on her Aura. It was almost like her Aura couldn't decide on itself. "...No" She looked dejected. Tatsumi began to edge himself around for a better vantage point. He just wanted to leave. He kept Akame in sight out of the corner of his eye. "That's a shame...since you know the location of our hideout we'll have to kill you if you won't join..." The woman tilted her head to the side rather cutely for her shifted his weight away from the two of them. "Good luck with that, I'm rather difficult to kill."

Tatsumi hiked his arm over his shoulder, preparing to disable Akame and the Violenette and run for it, he hesitated though. She seemed so...peaceful right now. His hesitation was his mistake. Akame Pounced, Diving upon him like a shark onto an injured sea lion, knocking Tatsumi off his feet. Grabbing the back of his shirt and an arm she began to drag him off. He slammed a hand into the wall beside him. his fingers tearing away into the stone. "I Refuse. No! N. O. Means NO. YOU WILL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE! I WILL NOT GO QUIETLY INTO THE NIGHT!" Stone tore away with a screech, his nails digging lines into the roughly carved stone. "food!" Akame sang out happily. The Violenette with the incomprehensible Aura looked on with a contented look on her face.

* * *

_Akame_

For all of her seeming single-mindedness, Akame was actually rather worried about the young man she was dragging away. She still couldn't place the familiarity. But, she also wondered what must have happened to him to be so far gone. She knew nobody truly wanted to be alone. She had tailed him after he left the clearing. Working as hard as possible not to be noticed. She felt that he would have noticed her if not for his grief. He seemed so alone. So she brought him home. She decided to drag him off to the meeting room, hoping her friends could convince him t o join. So he wouldn't be alone anymore.

When they entered the Meeting room several people were there. Leone's eyes widened at Tatsumi as he was dragged in. A piece of the wall crumbled away as he no longer had any space to claw at. In the corner of the room, a man with a heart-shaped pompadour looked on in interest. and then Hell broke loose. "I. Said. No. I. Will. Not. Go. Quietly. Into. The. Night." Tatsumi reached around with his free arm and grabbed Akame from behind his neck, He spun her around and freeing his other arm he grabbed her hip pulling her back he began to suplex her, in midair, he hiked his knee up to his chest. placing his foot on her spine, he launched her into the air. From his position he somersaulted towards the middle of the room keeping himself low as he palmed several needles. Akame landed gracefully flipping in the air to correct her fall. on a throne in the middle of the room a woman he recognized as Najenda from the posters puffed on her cigar. she studied him closely. She wasn't bothered by his actions. Akame watched her friend, Schere walk into the room absentmindedly.

"So who is this?" Najenda asked the room calmly. she was confident that he couldn't do any real harm to her team. Akame deadpanned and looked over at Najenda in confusion. As the leader of Night raid. And one of the sole survivors of Esdese you'd think she wouldn't be prone to underestimating someone. Leone would be one to answer. "His name's Tatsumi, he's the man we ran into on our mission." Najenda's lone eye widened at his name, but she quickly schooled her features. "So what are you doing here? I thought you had escaped Leone." Akame studied how uncomfortable Tatsumi was. "I was dragged here against my will." He gave a rather pointed look to Akame. He shifted back again. Akame for her part was looking rather innocent, bouncing on her toes a little. Najenda got the hint, "Akame?" from what must have been the void Akame procured a stick of meat. Tatsumi facepalmed. You have got to be fucking kidding me. "Food." she handed the stick to Najenda. much to the surprise of everyone else in Night Raid.

* * *

_Tatsumi_

Gingerly taking it from Akame, a wary look on her, Najenda took a bite of the meat. A rapturous look crossed her face. Akame Pointed to Tatsumi "Food!" Tatsumi's eye twitched. "Damnit! Do you think about anything else!" He took another step back. it was at this point that the six other members of the figured out what he was doing. The Pompadoured man and the Violenette moved towards the back of the Room. Tatsumi recognized he was surrounded. He looked up to a window towards the roof of the room. He cracked his neck. Leone Crouched. He noticed that she looked different than she did at the bar. And considering the bar, the green haired asshole from earlier seemed to be fidgeting with some wires in the corner. Tatsumi wouldn't forgive him for earlier. Leone's hair was longer and almost feral looking. Najenda just puffed on her cigar, she was flexing a cybernetic appendage that had replaced Her left arm. aside from Najenda only Akame didn't seem prepared to fight. Akame stood with her eyes to the ground crossing an arm over her belly to grip her other arm. She actually looked rather cute.

Najenda "Why are you so Against joining us Tatsumi?" Tatsumi opened his mouth to growl out an answer, but found himself interrupted. A small girl that resembled an overgrown sentient sculpture of chewing gum spoke up haughtily, with a nasally voice that grated on his nerves. "Join us, Ha! This pathetic fool isn't worthy of being a member of Night raid, clearly we are cut from a different cloth. hmph" Tatsumi stood up straight with a look that conveyed a sense of excuse me bitch? He deadpanned for all of two seconds and then disappeared. He was standing directly in front of the talking fuschia lollipop. He held a kind smile on his face. She was startled by his sudden appearance. He took her hand in his, bowing slightly and placing a light kiss on it. His face remained a mask of calm contentedness. "Now what would a catch like you be doing in Night raid, little salmon?" He asked her, almost affectionately, if not for the sickly sweet hint to his tone.

Akame's cheeks glowed red, she didn't understand why but she felt jealous. She puffed out her cheeks in a pout. Leone just looked on in Horror at Najenda. Said woman's mouth was twitching into a smile as she broke out into a snort. Najenda, for her part, was doing everything she could not to laugh. The "little salmon" in question however was sputtering trying to get out a response, a blush plain on her face. But then Tatsumi's face went dark. He gripped her hand a little tighter and flipped it over, revealing that he had a discoloured needle barely even a centimeter away from a vein in her wrist. Her blood ran cold. The members of the room tensed, unsure if they needed to step in and try to save their comrade. Tatsumi spoke in a tone resembling well placed disillusionment "You're right. I am cut from a different cloth, a cut far above you." He let go of her hand. She pulled back rapidly shivering from the intensity of his glare. He walked away calmly form the now shaken girl.

Tatsumi straightened himself out, evening out his sleeves and smoothing out the collar of his jacket. "Why would I join Night raid. All of you are suicidal. I have no interest in getting attached to even more people doomed to die". The torches on the wall flickered. Casting shadows onto the walls. Understanding came to Najenda. "You really shouldn't underestimate us we're_" Tatsumi pulsed out his Killing intent, unknowingly causing flashbacks of Esdese to run through Najenda. As well as making everyone but heart horn head, and Akame to feel sick. He finished Najenda's sentence for her. "Nothing without your Teigu." Najenda's confidence was quite shaken now, only two people possessed strength of will to that degree. One of whom was supposed to be very dead. Najenda of course couldn't be sure, but she had begun to piece together the possibility of who actually stood in front of her. But regardless of whether or not this man was indeed who she thought he was. She needed him to join Night raid. That kind of power would be invaluable for the revolution.

"We aren't weak Tatsumi" He scoffed. "I stand by what i said. Without your teigu you are nothing. You've become reliant on overpowered tools." Najenda considered how to go about this. She knew it was unwise to try and antagonise the young man. His Killing intent still held a faint pulse around him, causing a cold wind to blow around the room, his black coat and brown hair waved lightly from the force of will. Najenda took another puff of her smoke. She was about to hedge a bet on his pride. But she had to admit she wasn't sure about his capabilities. She decided to probe him and see whether or not he held one of these "overpowered tools" as he put it, himself. "And what of you, surely you carry a teigu as well." he placed himself back in the center of the room, studying each of its members with an impassive glare. "Why would I carry one, they are a weakness. I do not care to become addicted to those drugs you call weapons." Najenda shivered, this sounded Eerily like something Esdese constantly reminded Teigu wielders, be they on the receiving end of her blade or behind it. It made her feel sick, but she decided to pull a few leaves out of her former friends book.

"Teigu are only as strong as their wielder, if a weak wielder holds a powerful weapon, they will not be as dangerous as a powerful wielder who wields as weak weapon." Tatsumi's interest was piqued at this. Few people held the cognition to keep this in mind when dealing with Teigu, usually they become drunk on the power and forget to develop themselves. "Aside from pomp and circumstance over here, i doubt any of you spend that much time training." he said pointing to Pompadour. Again Najenda's lips twitched into a smile, she was trying so hard not to laugh. Her voice was a little shaky "Bulat isn't the only one who trains constantly I assure you." Tatsumi Eyed the window some forty or so feet in the air, it was his only viable route of escape. He was going to have to claw his way out one way or another. May as well kick them all into the dirt while he did it. "Tell you what, i'll join you…" Najenda sensed the if that was coming. "If the members of Night Raid can land three, definitive blows on me in an all out brawl." Najenda was ready to jump on the chance but the look in Tatsumi's eyes told her that she needed to be wary. "What's the catch?" Tatsumi smirked, briefly his eyes flashed a brightly luminescent version of his natural jade. "If your team can land three definitive blows on me, Without their teigu."

Leone almost screamed "Oh that's bullshit!" Tatsumi gave her a pointed look "Why the hell would I allow myself to become attached to this team if you aren't even willing to better your Natural selves. Teigu are poisons. You become reliant on them like a drug and become incapable of taking care of yourself without them. If you want me to join you will have to prove to me you don't need them to survive." Bulat made a smart move and launched himself from the back at Tatsumi attempting to give him no time to react. "You're a smart one, as a man I'll just have to prove to you that we are strong!" But Tatsumi was smart too, and had his guard up the entire time. To Bulat's surprise Tatsumi turned and clapped, which had the effect of creating a concussive blast that blew Bulat back. "Bit sexist that, really doesn't matter what gender you are. Strength is strength." Tatsumi bent his spine at near perfect ninety degree angle when a now normal Leone came in for a roundhouse kick. He grabbed her leg in mid air. Having learned her lesson from the last time she reacted quickly, attempting to elbow him in the face before he could throw her, he tilted his head slightly. Tatsumi decided that he may as well play the psych game as well. Quickly he gave her a light kiss on the cheek. She squeaked in reaction. And then he threw her. "You need to be able to keep a level head in combat" He dodged several strikes from Akame. "You can't allow yourselves to be caught off guard by anything." he ducked as Bulat came from behind, both bulat and Akame were going in for strikes a the same time. Tatsumi blasted his legs out in a split striking at their legs. Akame and bulat crashed into each other as Tatsumi jumped back.

Tatsumi felt like he was forgetting someone. Najenda hadn't moved at all yet, and he had kept an eye on his "little salmon" as well as the bartender, who he very much intended to get revenge on for leaving him to the dogs with Akame earlier. Again Leone tried to dive onto him. But for Tatsumi everyone was still moving far to slowly. He reached out lackadaisically and pinched her neck, he kept his grip as he caught her. She tried to fight against it but feinted soon. Najenda had attempted to step in, her arm had shot above his head as he laid Leone down on the ground gently. "You will never succeed if you don't give it your all." He stood up as they began to surround him. He still felt like someone was missing. He felt a small shudder sun down his spine. Najenda nodded her head to someone behind him. He jumped as Bulat went in for a strike, Aame sailed in high attempting a flying kick. Tatsumi twisted in the air dodging her kick. Najenda shot her arm out again, Tatsumi grabbed it out of the air and pull her off balance. The Bartender came from below, Tatsumi threw Najenda's arm into him. Bulat was the first to finally land a strike, with Tatsumi entangled between everyone Bulat saw an opening and got a jab in. Tatsumi grunted before spinning around rapidly He threw Akame into Bulat blowing them both back, he grabbed the chain from Najenda's arm and pulled her in before slamming his elbow into her, she coughed out in pain and fell away. The bartender tries to slam an axe kick into Tatsumi as he fell to the ground. Tatsumi grabbed his heel before it landed and twisted him around, Tatsumi got his revenge for earlier as he placed his foot in between his victim's legs. He launched the now cringing bartender thrusting a cannon like kick into his balls. It was major surprise to Tatsumi that Leone would be the second to land a blow. "You can't just tease a girl like that damnit!" She Slammed a punch into his face, almost knocking Tatsumi off balance. He slid a foot back to recover, he launched a plethora of jabs into the poor woman, slowly breaking her down. A jab into the side of the knee, she crumpled slightly. Two consecutive jabs, one into the hip, the other into the stomach. A jab into the ribs, two into the shoulders. He slammed his palms into her ears. She completed caved in and screamed in pain. Tatsumi had gotten serious now. Leone wasn't getting back up easily this time. Bulat came in like a wrecking ball from above but left himself wide open. A sound like thunder rang out into the room. Bulat fell away clutching his stomach as he coughed up blood. Only Akame, Najenda and the shivering little salmon were left.

Tatsumi knew he was forgetting someone, but didn't have time to consider this as Akame and Najenda began their dance with him. They were working as hard as possible to keep him from landing any strike on them. Akame and Najenda traded strikes between each other in rapid succession. Every punch Akame threw was immediately complimented by a kick from Najenda. Tatsumi did have to give them points for impeccable team work. But he still blocked every attack with ease. He hadn't yet found a good opening to shut them down. But Tatsumi can be cruel when he wants to be. He had slowly been working his way towards the one person he knew hadn't entered the fight. And then the dynamic shifted. Tatsumi had the pinkette in a headlock, easily placed to break her neck. Najenda and Akame paled. It looked like they had lost this fight. Until Tatsumi finally figured out who he had forgotten, or rather he felt her arms wrap around him, Her aura enveloped his, he shuddered, it still felt unnatural to him. He was distracted by the invasive feeling. Akame took the only chance she would get, with Tatsumi's surprise. She went in for a kick and connected. He flew back into the wall behind them. Panting Najenda parroted his words back to him "You can't allow yourself to be caught off guard by anything." Cursing in his head Tatsumi replied calmly from the hole in the wall where he was embedded. "Well played…" Tatsumi was a man of his word. He was now a Member of night raid. Picking himself up out of the hole in the wall he sighed.

Tatsumi cracked his neck and walked over to Bulat, He offered a hand to the man, Bulat took Tatsumi's offered hand. Picking up the walking tower of muscle Tatsumi placed a palm over where he struck before. Akame had thought he was attacking Bulat but but noticed a green glow was emanating from his hand. "You know magicks?" Tatsumi nodded his head "Mhmm.", not realising the significance of this fact. He walked over to Akame and Najenda and healed their bruises as well. And then he walked over to Leone. "Oi what happened to ladies first?" she asked indignantly. "Best for last." he retorted in deadpan. She blushed. Again Akame felt jealous. Crawling into the room holding is groin was the bartender. "Last?! What about me?" Tatsumi chuckled lightly. "That's payback for leaving me to Akame in the kitchen earlier." The violenette approached him. Instinctively Tatsumi stepped back Wary of her.

"So you will be joining us?" she asked. Tatsumi was still trying to get a read on her Aura. "...Yes…" She smiled happily. After the display of Magical capabilities Najenda was sure This was the Tatsumi she thought he was. She decided she would have to figure out what had happened in the past two years that caused him to leave the Empire. She felt all the more determined about her cause, knowing how loyal Tatsumi had been. "Welcome to Night Raid Tatsumi, Welcome to the path of carnage." Tatsumi raised an eyebrow. "Path of carnage my ass. That doesn't lie with assassin's. The path of carnage lies on the battlefield of war." Najenda didn't know how to reply to that. Unbeknownst to them though Tatsumi wasn't even sure where it had come from. A memory flashed through him. It flashed a battlefield before him. Corpses littered the ground. Memories of the smell of blood flooded Tatsumi's mind. He staggered, the memories Flashed in fire in his mind. A migraine stabbed into tatsumi. Tatsumi began to grip his head in pain. Many memories began to flood his mind. But he couldn't make sense of them. He saw soldiers, corpses, loss, love, family, friends. Tatsumi crumpled to the ground clutching his head in pain. His killing intent was unintentionally leaking out of him in a swirling fog. A voice was calling out to him, it felt so cold, so full of hate and darkness. It rang around in his head, but he couldn't fully hear it. _**" L_-_o-_it_-o_-t_-_his-wor_-_par_." **_Tatsumi screamed. And then everything blacked out.

* * *

_Tatsumi_

A few days had passed since Tatsumi had Fainted from his Memory overflow. He had taken the time to get to know the members of night raid a little more, and spent some time easing Mine down from her fear of him, explaining to her that he just wanted to make sure everyone understood the gravity of the world they live in. He didn't know it but his exact words were parroting Esdese's. Even as the Colonel Tatsumi had admitted to there being truth in it. And still, even without a sense of his memories or who he truly was, he was hellbent on rising above that rule. If only so that the nightmares that haunt him would go away…

Flashback:

Tatsumi awoke screaming, launching himself from the bed in a cold sweat, he was panting. The images of the dead plaguing his mind. The feeling of life leaving flesh fresh on his mind, the metallic smell of blood still rang around his senses. A hand gently touched his arm and he shot away in fear. Akame looked at him worriedly. Reality was starting to set in. Tatsumi felt tears run down his cheeks. He ran forward and hugged Akame to him. Just to feel someone living near them. Her heartbeat, her breathing. They calmed him down. He was awake. He wasn't in a field of corpses. Akame was alive. She was alive. His breathing began to slow down. Akame was surprised, but held onto him. It felt familiar to her. She felt like she had done this in reverse some time ago with someone else. Tatsumi's resolve steeled itself again. He would protect these people. He would become strong enough to protect his precious people at all costs. And he would help Night raid attain that same strength.

End flashback:

Currently Tatsumi was leaning on a windowsill looking out to the horizon. contemplating everything that had happened, that had lead him to this point. He found himself wondering about his past before he was found outside the village. He wondered who he really was in the past. Who he could have been that his memories would be filled with the dead. Down below two of his new Comrades called to him waving him down. He looked down At bulat who had been training with his staff, and leone who was waving to him. "Tatsumi! Head down here!" In an action that had become rather unsurprising to them he just fell out of the window and descended to the ground below. His coat flared out and slowed his fall just before he touched ground adding a rather graceful flare to his descent. The members of nightraid still hadn't figured out exactly how he did that. Tatsumi looked at Leone inquisitively. "Boss wants to talk with you, she said something about your first assignment." Tatsumi nodded, heading inside towards the meeting room where he knew Najenda would be.

Najenda actually intercepted him on his way in to the base, she wanted to take a small walk with him and try to learn about what had happened to him in the past two years. She had learned about his Amnesia from Schere, the violet haired vixen who caught Tatsumi off guard. She was rather talented with medicinal practices so she had been the one to look after Tatsumi when he passed out. Tatsumi was still wary of her, but had come to understand why she was so off putting to him. Her Aura was constantly fluctuating because she was, as she put it, and airhead. She didn't have enough of a grasp on reality for her aura to decide on itself normally. But Tatsumi would never forget what her aura felt like when she was focused. The cold feeling of an absolute null entered his mind. He had never felt something like it before. There was no emotion, no thought behind it. It was pure, cold, unyielding instinct. The purest form of intent he had ever felt. And in her case it was terrifying. Tatsumi was still working on moving past this so that they could become friends.

"So Tatsumi, i've heard that you suffer from amnesia?" Tatsumi sighed "Yes, up until two years ago iIdon't remember anything. I was picked up by my village's chief, and treated. I remember my name, and nothing else." Wind blew around them in a cool breeze. Tatsumi took in a deep breath enjoying the scent of nature wafting off the forest. "What did you do in your village?" Tatsumi became suspicious at this point. Small talk like this was the kind of thing someone did to gain information on a target. "I mainly kept to myself, hunted down danger beasts and made money to help the village out." Najenda was well aware of how suspicious she was being,and had accounted for a subversion using the information Akame had provided her about their encounter.

"You came to the Capital with two of your friends correct? One of them is missing. Is it possible she went back home?" Tatsumi relaxed a little, still wary of the woman walking beside him. "I don't know. I intend to find her and pull her out of all of this. She's strong...but no one should go through this world the way it is." Najenda reached out and lightly tapped Tatsumi on his elbow. "I'll send some information to higher ups at the Revolutionary army, maybe we can get people to keep an eye out for her." Tatsumi paused. "...Thankyou." wind blew around them again, taking the hair that had been shielding Tatsumi's eyes out of his face. His eyes were cold, they held the soul of a broken heart in them. Something that didn't not go unnoticed by Najenda. She had reevaluated her plan to learn more, instead choosing to let him open up to her team and let him become apart of the family. Unfortunately, Najenda couldn't tell the young man who she thought he might be. Who she knew he really was.

"Najenda!" The peaceful silence was broken, Lubbock, the bartender guy, came running out panting. "We have intruders, six of them, Bulat, Schere and Akame have already headed out, Mine has taken a vantage point to take out anyone she can see. Leone is searching the base to see if anythings missing." Najenda turned to tell Tatsumi to go hunt them down. He was long gone. "Not a very patient person is he?" she mused to herself. Lubbock was pulling threads from his Teigu activating traps and keeping an eye on activity in the area using them. Lubbock was grumbling about the new guy having all of the attention.

* * *

_Akame_

She was studying her sword Murasame, three corpses with slashed throats were behind her. He's right. I am reliant on Murasame's ability. Wind blew around the young woman, whistling lightly around her as it blew her hair around in an almost playful manner. Akame had been thinking a lot about the boy for the past few days. She heard screaming nearby and ran to see what was going on. Prepared as always to step in and help one her she was greeted with was Tatsumi cleaning off a couple of his needles and two corpses with holes through their skulls. Bulat approached her from behind. Placing a hand on her shoulder to let her know he's there. The bulat indicated the sixth intruder was dead. They watched Tatsumi as he looked over to them with a raised eyebrow. Tatsumi began to walk away. Bulat watched him go, gripping onto Akame to let her know not to leave yet. "You ever get the feeling that we've met Tatsumi before." Akame would have answered but her stomach grumbled. Bulat sweatdropped. He lost her. "...Food." Bulat sighed to himself and just held onto Akame to let her do the work dragging him back to the base. His feet dragged lines into the dirt as Akame walked back to the base. She had actually managed to pass Tatsumi who had paused to enjoy the feeling of wind through the forest. A feeling of dread Hell itself couldn't bring upon him ran through his body as he heard akame singing girlishly about food.

Tatsumi had in fact attempted to run away, but Bulat grabbed onto him as he passed. "If i'm going down Tatsumi, you're going down with me!" Tatsumi's voice reached nearly supersonic heights. Bulat pinned the young man to his chest, making sure to keep his arms locked tight. "LET ME GO DAMN IT, I WILL NOT GO QUIETLY INTO THE NIGHT!" Tatsumi kicked and writhed attempting to escape his impending doom. "I WILL NOT GO QUIETLY INTO THE NIIIIIIIGHT!" From her vantage point on window in the base Mine sweat dropped. She muttered to herself as she handed Leone the scope to watch Tatsumi be dragged back. "How can someone that terrifying be so normal?" Leone just chuckled to herself, thinking about a couple of others in Night raid.

* * *

_Tatsumi_

Once again Tatsumi found himself in a waking hell. Night raid was at the table eating the food he prepared, they all loved it. Of course. This meant he was cemented as the Chef. "Why me…What the hell did I do to deserve this." Akame chipped in rather intelligently by poking Tatsumi in the arm with her plate. "Food." does she ever think about anything else and this is her sixth plate Damnit! "Where the hell does all that food even go?" Najenda piped up for this one "Our researchers believe there's a small black hole somewhere present in her stomach. We can't really confirm this hypothesis yet." Tatsumi Rolled his eyes at the notion. He sighed to himself in defeat. "...I went quietly into the night…" He took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of his hard work. Many creatures went extinct that night.

"All joking aside though Tatsumi, I do have an Assignment for you. Leone." "A woman contacted us the other night and gave us some info on an imperial enforcer called Ogre. He apparently has been going around wrongly imprisoning innocent people. Many of them women." Tatsumi froze everyone looked at him Warily. His killing intent flurried around him like a second skin, and his eyes were luminescing. **"Continue."** Leone hesitated and placed the informants payment on the table, the smell of disease filled Tatsumi's nose. She had been selling herself to pay for this. Tatsumi's killing intent took a crimson hue to it. What was once black now looked like blood. "She just had simple request. Kill him. We'll be doing the capital a great favor taking out bastards like this. And we figured this would be a good way to test run you. We want to make sure you can keep a low profile when taking out targets even in broad daylight." Tatsumi dismissed the challenge. His mind was focused on one thing alone. A darkness had overtaken him. In the back of his mind that voice spoke again. **"I will erase him."** Schere looked on with a frown as Tatsumi left.

* * *

Tatsumi felt sick traversing the roads of the Capital. He was starting to understand now, why this place felt so broken. Looking around it was easy to see the fear in people's lives. The diseased, the dying, the damned. They all blended together in a melting pot of the abused and broken. He twirled a needle between his fingers as he leaned into a wall in an alleyway. Ogre and his entourage passed by. He had been tailing them for hours. Learning all of their habits. Only one stood out. If only because she smelt familiar to him for some reason. He still wasn't quite sure why the specific combination of blood, sweat, and lilacs smelt familiar to him. He put it out of hi smind. Memorizing the brunette the smell came from before dismissing her. He focused on Ogre. The cretin smelled absolutely vile, and had a tainted aura to match it. It was like the walking, talking asscrack bathed in the blood of his victims.

Tatsumi's patience was wearing thin, but eventually he would finally find an opportunity to get at ogre. Ogre and his entourage had stopped in at a bar, the very same bar that Lubbock ran in the Evening. He decided to make use of his connection and slid some poisons for Lubbock. In the entourages case they would be so high they would think had ascended to twelfth dimension of shit faced, drunk as skunk, holy fuck what did I just drink, damn this is good scotch. In Ogre's case the effect would be like taking crack laxatives. The drug Tatsumi had Lubbock slip Ogre was used to perform colonoscopies on Bull danger beasts that are bred for the Capitals entertainment in the colosseum. And sure enough as six members of his guard looked on in stupefied awe, no longer coherently aware that reality was a thing. Ogre left the bar, His stomach growling like a deranged bear that had managed to set fire to a pot farm.

Ogre slunk off to an alley way to relieve himself clutching his stomach in pain. Ogre was aware of Tatsumi as he calmly walked up from behind. Tatsumi was neither surprised nor was he worried. But he was looking forward to making an example out of Ogre. "So you're the little rat who's been following me all day? Don't tell me a pipsqueak like you is here to try and kill me." Ogre fell several sharp pains run through his body, he attributed it to whatever poison was fucking him up. "I'm not here to try and kill you, I am here to kill you."what had actually happened with the sharp pains was Tatsumi throwing several small needles into Ogres body at specific points. Ogre unsheathed his sword from his back. "Well what are you waiting for come at me?" Tatsumi dashed forward, far slower than he was capable of. Ogre slashed in a wide arc. As Ogres arms got above his head his entire body erupted in pain. The needles Tatsui shot into his body were tearing tendons in various muscles. Ogre Coughed up blood as Tatsumi slid under him. Tatsumi hopped up and launched a kick into Ogres spine , forcing him to the ground. Tatsumi headlocked Ogre. Tatsumi took a needle and jabbed it into Ogre's windpipe, but not to kill. "You and me are going to have a little fun for a bit Ogre.

Ogre attempted to speak but all that came out was hoarse gurgle. It dawned on him what Tatsumi has done. Now he couldn't scream. Tatsumi took a plethora of poisoned needles and began jabbing them in various areas in Ogres body. Shutting down it's ability to move or struggle. The poison was developed from a rare flower that heightens sensitivity in the human body. Generally this was used recreationally as an aphrodisiac. For Tatsumi, this was a small glimpse of what awaited Ogre in Hell. Tatsumi picked up Ogre and slammed him into the wall. He took four small metal stakes and Nailed Ogre to the wall two in each hand. And two in the shoulder. He split the legs wide apart and nailed them into the wall as well. Ogre had tears streaming down his face from the pain. Tatsumi didn't care. "Painful isn't it. But I doubt this is anything compared to the women you've raped. How many lives have you ruined Ogre?" Tatsumi began to pull out his needles violently. Making sure every single one would bleed "How many people did you take everything away from. How many husbands lost the love of their lives because of you." The alley way was dead silent save for Tatsumi's quiet voice. "How many wives feel soiled and dirtied because of you?" Tatsumi picked up Ogres sword inspecting it briefly. "How many of the people, whose lives you ruined, did you kill?" Ogre was gurgling uncontrollable as Tatsumi approached him. The sword dragged along the ground in a cruel screeching scratch. Tatsumi Brought the blade above his head. Ogre tried to plead for his Life. Tatsumi intended for Ogre to bleed out in this alleyway. He would die slowly and alone. Tatsumi slammed the blade down, castrating Ogre. Ogre let out a muffled and broken scream whimpering at the loss of his manhood. Blood was pouring out of his body, pooling at the ground below him. "Burn in Hell where you belong Ogre."

In his mind the voice called out, and here he understood it clearly **_That's my little one, cleanse the world in despair._** Tatsumi walked away a cold look of impassiveness on his face. Just as he fell out of possible sight one of Ogre's guards came looking for him, having recovered from the drugs quicker than any of the others. She had a splitting headache. She noticed Ogre nailed to the wall, Ogre thought he might have been saved, she was his most loyal guard. But to his surprise she just tilted her head. Her head cleared out quickly, a sense of familiarity from the style of Ogre's punishment. Studying the brutal work that had been done to him, she had let go of everything she ever held in her mind for Ogre, it had been overtaken by someone she held far higher in her heart. "Onii...chan?..." Ogre would bleed out on the wall that night. And rumours would begin to spread throughout the capital. A sleeping dragon had awoken in the capital.

* * *

Tatsumi made it back to the base easily. As he walked into the door of the meeting room he stretched popping out some knots from the tense day. He noted that Najenda, Akame, and Leone were waiting for him.

"How was your first mission Tatsumi." Tatsumi shifted onto his right leg resting a hand on his hip. "Easy, made it back without a scratch." he replied in boredom. Leone and Najenda looked over at Akame, apparently understanding something Tatsumi didn't. Leone dived at Tatsumi and grabbed his shirt. "Woah what the hell are you doing!" he slid out of her grip and leaped away. Leone was smirking deviously, obviously enjoying his predicament. "Stripping you isn't it obvious Tat~su~mi" She leaned down a fair bit giving an ample view of her cleavage. In a rare display that he did in fact have some blood flowing, Tatsumi blushed and looked away from Leone. In the end this benefitted him as he was able to narrowly dodge Akame, trading grapples as she tried to pin him in place. Najenda watched everything unfold with amusement. "Oi take a man to dinner first Damnit." And then Tatsumi though he was Saved Bulat Appeared beside Tatsumi reastin an elbow on the young man's shoulder.

"Tatsumi does have a point ladies, it is rather rude to move so quickly." Tatsumi sighed in relief and turned to thank Bulat, an action he would soon regret. In some strange illusion the origin and magicks of which Tatsumi couldn't even begin to comprehend flowers bloomed around the two, rose petals fell from nowhere. Bulat grabbed Tatsumi's chin and pulled him into an intimate gaze. Najenda would never let anyone know but she had a nosebleed running from the scene before her. "What do you say Tatsumi, care to join me for romantic candlelit dinner under the moonlight?" Tatsumi's brain short circuited from an overflowing amount of what the fuck. "I don't care if you're gay. My one rule is leave me out of it." Bulat smiled sadly. "Oh well. Guess i'll have to try a little harder Eh?" Bulat grabbed the bottom of Tatsumi's shirt and the top of his pants and ripped them off in one fluid motion somehow bypassing the Coat Tatsumi wore. Tatsumi felt so incredibly violated, he was frozen, if only to hold himself back from strangling Bulat. Leone began to drool

"Damn Tatsumi that's one hell of a package you got there." Bulat praised appreciatively. Tatsumi's waking nightmare continued. His head turned slowly towards Bulat, his bangs overshadowed his eyes, only the pale luminescence of a burning jade peered out. "Bulat...I will have my revenge for this." Bulat's answer for this was to back away slowly, but he was still staring at specific...things. As for Akame and Leone, their original intent was almost completely forgotten at this point. Steam was coming out of a giggling leone who had begun to memorise Tatsumi's near perfect muscle structure. She was licking her lips hoping to get a close hand inspection of every scar on his chiseled form.

She hoped Tatsumi liked massages, it would give her ample chance to...study the fine specimen before her. Even Akame found herself blushing at the war torn frame of Tatsumi's body. Her mind had gone almost completely blank and she found herself thinking about food of a different sort. "Food…" Tatsumi adopted a look of horror on his face hearing her. Najenda actually turned her head away from Tatsumi out of respect for the person she believed to be her old friend. Tatsumi closed up his trench coat attempting to regain some of his dignity and modesty. Akame's mind snapped back to her original worry and she blitzed over to the young man, shoving the jacket open and spinnihim around. It was at this point Tatsumi considered killing everyone in the room.

Leone regained her composure. "Not a scratch...good." Tearing himself away from akame and closing his coat again Tatsumi asked coldly "Excuse me?" Najenda would answer. Akame has had comrades die because they were too prideful to admit they had wounds. She tries to make sure no one dies like that again." Tatsumi understood what was going on now, but he still didn't like it. Leone fixed a predatory look on Tatsumi that he felt he had seen before on someone far worse than her. It made him shudder. "I'm not going to die to something as stupid as an infected wound. Now if you'll excuse me i'm going to go find clothes." Tatsumi then ceased to exist within the meeting room of night raid.

* * *

-)three days later(-

_?_

How Delightful. So many rats for me to hunt today. Let's see. Who shall I visit today. Ooh this door seems fun. A bulky man clad in a trench coat that covered everything but his feet, approached a door. Using his third eye he took a peek into the minds of the people around the capital. He was sure to get an interesting reaction from this knocked on the door Politely and waited for an answer. From within the house resonated "I swear you better be a serial killer because if that's you in that bullshit folks wagon, I am going to kill you" A young man opens the door. "Oh...well shit." The young man deadpanned and phished a photograph from his pockets."could you do me a favor and take this bastard with me?" The bulky Man grinned insanely. An unsheathing sound rang out. The young man's body dropped to the floor.

* * *

_Tatsumi_

Tatsumi was on his second assignment from night raid. But this one wasn't a solo mission, Night raid was ll out tonight Hunting in pairs for a serial killer that had come into the Capital. A vicious lunatic nicknamed Headhunter Zanku. He had apparently been an executioner at an imperial prison, beheading people day in and day out until it drove him insane. He had stolen a teigu form the warden and was now using it to hunt people down at random. Tatsumi had been paired up with akame for their sweep of the capital. All night he had felt like someone was watching him. Akame and Tatsumi were currently taking a small break from their search. Akame's stomach grumbled. Sighing Tatsumi pulled out some jerky he had prepared for the night. "Knock yourself out. I'm going to got take a leak." Akame just sat there happily chewing the jerky without a care in the world. In all reality Tatsumi was absentmindedly considering the voice that had been popping up so much recently.

As Tatsumi was relieving himself he felt a shudder run through his body. Something was very wrong. He looked over and at the end of the Alleyway was Ieyasu. "Bullshit." Ieyasu ran away, and without thinking Tatsumi bolted after him Tailing him through various alleyways until they reached a tournament stadium. Tatsumi stood defensively for a moment before the launched out a needle at rapid speeds. It should have gone through "Ieyasu's" head. But What was revealed was the Bulky Man night raid had been looking for. Zanku stood with a demented smile on his face. "How delightfully cold of you. Rather harsh, seeing someone you care about and almost immediately trying to kill them." Tatsumi glared at the man. Zanku actually faltered. Tatsumi's killing intent was pulsing out again. It was almost miasmic. Zanku regained his confidence though, he believed himself invincible with his teigu.

The voice was chiming in Tatsumi's head, making him feel woozy. "I wonder what face you'll make, everyone always makes the same face when I cut their heads off. I'm sure your expression will be delightful." Tatsumi began throwing needles. At the deranged lunatic, slowly taking step after step forward to close the distance. But no matter how fast he threw the needles Zanku was able to catch and deflect the needles. So tatsumi switched tactics. In a flash Tatsumi was right in front of Zanku slashing at the man with his sword. But Znaku was still keeping up with him. "Like he can predict my every move. Is that what you were thinking? With my teigu omnipotent five sights: spectator i can...what?" Tatsumi's mind had gone absolutely blank, and his movements sped up. In tatsumi's mind the voice began to speak more loudly, with a clear head it could speak freely. **_Let go my little one, tear this world apart and cleanse it in despair._** They were attempting to trade blows rapidly, Tatsumi's reflexes keeping him untouched, and Zanku's teigu was keeping him safe. As the voice began to overtake Tatsumi's mind, he found himself attacking more ferally. Zanku now had to focus to keep Tatsumi from landing blows on locked swords, Tatsumi's broadsword to the two hidden blades in Zanku's sleeves. They launched apart.

"So how do you do it?" Tatsumi's mind was still blank he wouldn't lose focus until Zanku's head stopped yammering. "Ok ouch. But really how do you deal with them. The voices?" Tatsumi eyes never left Zanku. Even the slightest muscle movement would spur action. "Excuse me?" "The voices, of all the people you've killed. I know you're haunted by them too. I try to drown them out by talking. But how do you deal with them? All the people telling you us to go to hell where we belong. And especially that dark voice in your head." The voice chimed in Tatsumi's head again, telling him to erase the headhunter. "I don't know what you're talking about" "Zanku's grin widened, if that was even possible. "Oh?" a flash rang out from Spectator on Zanku's forehead. "Then what about this?" But Tatsumi's vision was going red. Zanku had made the worst mistake of his life. Tatsumi's killing intent Exploded out from him. Zanku found chains wrapped around his body keeping him from moving at all as Tatsumi moved forward. What used to be a thick mist now exploded out from Tatsumi in a miasmic torrent of Hatred. Tatsumi's eyes no longer resembled a human's at all, they had become slitted and glowed out in a hypnotising pulse of verdant luminescence. As he approached Zanku could hear what sounded like shattering glass all around him. Tatsumi grabbed Zanku's face. Spectators normally green iris went red. He began to scream. He saw images of the Hells of Tatsumi's past. Things Tatsumi doesn't even remember. The land around them begins to rot and corrode from the toxicity of Tatsumi's will. "Be consumed headhunter, and die."

* * *

_Akame_

We all rushed towards the feeling of the killing intent. Worried for Tatsumi who had gone missing. When we arrived we found Zanku dead, but seemingly untouched, as if he just fell over and died. Tatsumi was on the ground whimpering and shivering. Something was wrong with our comrade. We carried him back home.

A.N.

Thank You to Grezna the Apocrolyph for betaing my story!

Holy fuck!

Here's an omake:

Evening. He decided to make use of his connection and slid some poisons for Lubbock. In the entourage case they would be so high they would think had ascended to twelfth dimension of shit faced drunk as skunk holy fuck what did I just drink, damn this is good scotch. In Ogre's case the effect would be like taking crack laxatives. The drug Tatsumi had Lubbock slip Ogre was used to perform colonoscopies on Bull danger beasts that are bred for the Capitals entertainment in the colosseum. And sure enough as six members of his guard looked on in stupefied awe, no longer coherently aware that reality was a thing. Ogre left the bar, His stomach growling like a deranged bear that had managed to set fire to a pot farm.

Ogre slunk off to an alley way to relieve himself. "Damn what the fuck was in those chimichangas i ate earlier, no more of that shit for me." tatsumi preemptively plugged his nose with mint leaves, not interested in the smell of this dead man's defecation. Tatsumi palmed several light needles. He also wanted to claw his eyes out When ogre dropped his trousers and started painting the wall in shit. Tatsumi slowly facepalmed coming to realise his mistake. The sounds were absolutely vile. As a bit of revenge Tatsumi lit a match. The resulting explosion should have caught people attention but the few citizens who were around decided they didn't even want to know. "HOLY FUCK! WHAT WERE IN THOSE CHIMICHANGAS!" Tatsumi briefly enjoyed the screaming man waddling around with his ass on fire. And was also glad to note the shit that had once adorned the wall had been burned away. The only sign of its existence was blackened singed brick. Tatsumi just ended the man's life then and there. Throwing a needle through his skull and walking away. After his report to night raid this would never be spoken of again.

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Relax and review. See you all next week with chapter 7.

Saiya.


	8. Ch 7 That which bind us together

Legend:

}-P.S-{ = perspective shift

{background actions or circumstances}

[Characters Writing or letters/notes]

: flashback :

author body note/commentary

*sound effect

^marks a phrase that can be translated from a real language^

/story break for a character/teigu/tentai heiki/monster breakdown/

BOLD: demon talking, outside force talking, basically anything not explicitly human talking

ITALICS: thoughts, expositional description, emphasis on a particular word

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the following original/fanfictional works: most of these will be referenced and inspired the story being written. All the credits for the original work go to the creators of their respective pieces. I hope that my story will be far enough removed from any individual story that it could become a file off the serial number work, but regardless it still pays homage to these great stories.

Undertale

Homestuck

Final Fantasy II

Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy XII

Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy

Prey

+Anima

Akame Ga Kill

Colonel Saber: AGK fanfic

 **WARNING THERE IS GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF TORTURE AND GORE IN THIS CHAPTER**

* * *

_Najenda_

Najenda watched Tatsumi as he trained outside. He had virtually completely closed himself off to everyone after they pulled him from the flames. Rumours had reached the higher ups in the imperial army. She had been ordered to have Tatsumi watched closely, and to keep a low profile in the Capital for some time. They were sending in reinforcements, a Teigu for Night Raid to find a compatible wielder for. And a veteran assassin specifically to watch Tatsumi and get in his head. She didn't think trying to antagonise her old friend was a wise idea. The Capital reeked of fear. It had gone almost dead silent in fear of the Dragon's Phantom. Apparently a Guard that had worked under ogre recognised the method of his execution and matched it back to some of the same ways Tatsumi had made examples of people in his time as the Colonel. And the damage Tatsumi had wrought when he killed Zanku was eerily similar to the event at Mt. Bas.

She was afraid that Honest would have Esdese Called back. Night Raid had too much to deal with, trying to integrate Tatsumi into the Team and make his strength their own. She had put Leone and Bulat to the task of trying to break him out of his shell and draw him in. She would have sent Akame in, but she had thrown herself into training, and hadn't made any comments on why she was so determined all of the sudden. Schere was outside watching Tatsumi closely as he trained. Najenda knew one thing. Tatsumi was lost in his own mind, and she didn't want whatever darkness was there to consume him. She was still considering sending him on various low profile Missions with Partners to try and force him to work with others. She had a few missions lined up. Some training between him, and the other members of night raid. And others that were supposed to be quite assassinations of shadier criminal organisations in the Capital. But nothing dealing with Teigu. It was unfortunate but she couldn't just halt Night Raid's work for the young man. They would have to find a way to bring him in as they moved.

Lubbock walked in, he Nodded to Najenda letting her know that he had news. Mine was over in the corner, cleaning Pumpkin as she watched Tatsumi tear himself apart. "He's worse than Bulat and Akame combined…" Najenda noted that mine still hadn't moved past her fear of Tatsumi. Perhaps it would be beneficial if they took the first mission. Nothing serious, just a reconnaissance mission. Najenda Sighed, she was worried about her team. She gestured to Lubbock, might as well get any news over with. "The Revolutionary army went ahead and sent a messenger bird. The two reinforcements should be coming in later today. They also wanted to warn us about a new 'police' force of Teigu users that were instated after what happened with Zanku. They call themselves Wild Hunt." Najenda frowned at this. It would be problematic for Tatsumi to run into this group. "They're more of a fear installation, lead by Syura, the prime ministers son. They don't keep the peace at all. They only going around abusing their power and tormenting people." Correction, it may be problematic for them to run into Tatsumi. Regardless She wanted to do what she could to avoid Tatsumi running into aggressive Teigu users. While it's true that he was, clearly, more than capable of fighting above and beyond the capability of imperials arms, it would still be more beneficial to recover the teigu from the empire. As it stands it would appear the Teigu Zanku held had been all but absolutely erased from existence.

"Mine, go collect Tatsumi, I have a mission for you two." Mine began to panic. Clearly she had to get over her fear of Tatsumi. "I...Isn't there someone else who would be better for the job. Like Leone or Akame or something." "Mine, we have to Get Tatsumi acquainted with ALL of the Members of Night Raid, Lubbock and Leone will be busy learning about this new police force in the capital, which leaves only you to lead a reconnaissance mission with Tatsumi in the Capital." Mine's face was twitching as she tried, and failed, to find some way to argue with her. "Fine…" Najenda sighed exasperatedly. "I need you to take Tatsumi through the capital and get him acquainted with it. Introduce him to our various outposts and spy houses in the Capital. Feel free to take a relaxed pace through the tour. God knows he needs something calm in his life."

Mine broke down Pumpkin into a modified armor suit and left to go put it on, glaring at Lubbock as he quietly whistled aloofly. "...Lubbock, when you and Leone are scouting out Wild Hunt, make sure to try and keep an eye out for Mine. Make sure that you let her know to keep Tatsumi as far away from them as possible." wind blew through the training field. Tatsumi was panting looking into the sky. If she was completely honest with herself it was sad seeing a man so young with a body that was destroyed the way his was. Clearly Tatsumi kept himself in perfect condition, his muscles rippled with power, but they highlighted the scars. Every pale line that outlined his body in vivid evidence of the will and strength to survive. "yes Ma'am."

Najenda sipped her coffee. Planning out every move she would need to make. She had to make Tatsumi feel like he belonged here. This wasn't just about the revolution for her. Her old friend came back from what she had believed to be the grave, broken and in pain. She was determined to give him back what he had given to so many others. She watched through the glare of the sun as Mine approached the Training ground, calling out to Tatsumi to let him know they had a mission. Tatsumi's hair shadowed his eyes. It was clear that whatever Zanku had done was still plaguing him.

He disappeared falling into a reflection that had suddenly appeared behind him. The reflection broke a way. A couple of moments pass while Schere and Mine look on in confusion, appearing in similar fashion Tatsumi seemed to step up from the ground, but now he was cleaned up. And dressed to the nines in a crimson, black lined suit, and gold tie.. The suit fitted him, and had an odd way of matching with the Frayed dragonskin Coat he always wore. With his hair slicked back and a look of absolute disinterest plastered to his face he resembled the Heir to a wealthy lordship without question. A strikingly debonair look for the normally free spirited Tatsumi. Schere, of course, was still to absentminded to really take note of Tatsumi's look, In fact Najenda had noticed That Schere had been chillingly pensive since they recovered Tatsumi from the wreckage that had become of his battlefield, if it could even be called that, with zanku. Mine on the other hand had a rather profuse blush on her face, clearly not expecting Tatsumi's refined state of raiment. She watched them both walk off to the Capital. She took another sip of her coffee.

* * *

_Mine_

Mine and Tatsumi Walked through the Capital, much to Tatsumi's Chagrin, their Cover for today would be as lovers. Nobody was likely to bat an eye at the two considering how well bred the made themselves out to look. Which made Mine's job of taking him through the capital and introducing him to many of their confidante's within the capital rather simple, as it appeared as if she was just taking him around to all of her favourite spots. However Mine was mildly annoyed at how disinterested Tatsumi seemed in the mission. Not that she could know what was really going on in his mind, between the deliberate ignorance of the voice in his head, and having to pay attention to each and every agent in the web of espionage within the Capital. Tatsumi was mapping out the entirety of the Capital, using his magicks to send out seismic echo's that he was able to use in order to memorise the infrastructure of every area they walked through. This also had the added benefit of feeding him data on the biological entities in the Capital and shed some light on various secrets the people were hiding. He now knew of at least a hundred un accounted for hidden areas around the Capital, keeping in mind their locations and what he could make of their contents. What he gathered was that there was another cohesive invasive informant group that had networked throughout the capital, and they had Night Raid beaten out by several miles on intricacy. He had filed this information away to discuss with Najenda later.

In the meantime he made up for his, visage of heedlessness by offering to take her out for a couple of treats. Mine of course would take full advantage of this. Still, imagine her amazement when Tatsumi dragged her over to a dancehall that he had found during his scouting, and took her for a dance. She of course knew how to dance, but it was still no small surprise that Tatsumi decided to Waltz with her. Mine decided to take the opportunity to learn about the Amnesiac mystery while she held the chance. "Where did you learn how to Dance?" "I think I was self taught actually." They glided across the dance floor. "Are you saying you learned how to do this since you lost your memory?" Tatsumi looked into her eyes, bringing his voice low so that no one else would hear his reply whilst they danced in perfect synchronisation "Kind of, to be honest I just discovered it one day when I decided to slow down how I fight." "so you're literally dancing when you fight?" Mine replied, conveying the sense that she thought that was rather stupid. But Tatsumi just smiled, Lightly humming out the tune of the song they were dancing to. The vibrations of the bass in his throat rang out comfortably through her as the glided along.

Unintentionally Tatsumi's Will pulsed out, No one was able to place it, but no one was bothered by this feeling. Unlike the normal sense of dread and despair that it causes, this felt warm, and peaceful. The magicks that permeated Tatsumi soul, and thus his will began to play with the lights until a cascade of sunshine danced around the halls of polished stone. In many ways the shadows that were casted onto the ground resembled the small holes left by leaves as the sunlight peers through the trees to the ground below. The dancehall began to smell of blossoming flowers and the scent of freshly cut grass wafted around the room. Everyone in the room, including Mine, began to see what Tatsumi realised was a memory of his. In his memory he was looking out over a forested mountain, humming the tune of a waltz, this memory was the first peaceful one he'd have come back clearly to him.

Mine looked at Tatsumi, This dance had been able to clear her of her fear. But, now she felt more curious about the young man. How could someone so tormented have such warm, peaceful side to them. In many ways she felt as if this part of him represented what was untouched by hatred or pain. As they left the dance hall arm in arm, she began to reflect on her life. Everything that had led her to where she was. Tatsumi of course noticed this and asked her what was going through her mind. "You ok?" Mine decided she would tell Tatsumi about herself. "Tatsumi, do you know how foreigners are treated in the Capital? I don't mean like imperial citizens born outside of the Capital, I mean people who are born outside of the empire as whole." "I'd imagine they are treated as less than dirt. People will do anything to take their minds off of their own lives. Including targeting someone else." "We are treated like beasts. Nobody cares if we get hurt or killed. Because we aren't one of you." Tatsumi thought for a moment. "You're wrong on at least one thing Mine…" She glared at him, tears were in the corner of her Eyes.

Tatsumi hugged Mine to him. "In the end we are all humans Mine. We may come from different places, and all of us have different stories, but we are still human. We live, We breath, We feel all the same. This doesn't excuse what We have done to your people. But That doesn't mean you aren't one of us Mine. If people in the Capital are incapable of seeing you for what you actually are then they are the ones who are dirt." Tatsumi pulled her away and looked into her eyes. "You are a young woman. You aren't defined by anything, You aren't just a legacy. Never forget that mine. Because the Blood of the Covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. You're family is with your friends. We all care about you. We'll help you bring justice to your people." Tatsumi hugged mine back to him as she started to cry. Tatsumi thought back to his own life. But where do I Belong…

Mine and Tatsumi worked their way back to Night raid. They bantered back and forth. And Tatsumi decided that he would take a detour to try and make another connection with her, one he knew she'd be able to relate to. She recognised a shooting range outside of the Capital that Guilds used to practice sharpshooting when they go out to hunt some of the more difficult marks, especially airborne one's that couldn't be reached with melee weaponry. Mine was confused to find that many of the people recognised Tatsumi, apparently having met and practiced with him before from his travels to the capital, or from his ventures hunting down marks to help out his village. They made their way out to the Marksman range. Tatsumi took out A special revolver, she didn't recognise the make or model of the modified gun. In her mind it didn't make sense to be a revolver, it resembled several types of guns, all of which were rare and unfound virtually everywhere in the Capital. This, plus the fact that nobody just combines an smg, railgun, and revolver had Mine very intrigued about Tatsumi's pistol. Tatsumi Held his arm out and took a deep breath. A high pitched whine emanated from the gun for all of two seconds

And then bullets rained out rapidly. Tatsumi handed her a scope. She looked out amusedly, expecting him to have hit something at maybe twenty yards max. Tatsumi grabbed her chin and pointed her lightly until she fell on the thirty five hundred meter mark. "Bullshit" "Keep your eyes on it then" He reloaded his pistol and fired again, the hole in the bullseye widened slightly as 16 bullets rapidly flew through it. "Care for a little competition before we head home Mine?"

* * *

 **_Bulat_**

Tatsumi and Mine returned back to base safely. Najenda was glad to see mine had gotten over her fear and Tatsumi had at least broken out of his shell at least a little. She instructed Bulat to try and get him to open up a bit more. But unfortunately for the towering man he was at a loss at how to approach the young. They didn't really hold anything in common that Bulat could tell. But, Bulat wasn't going to just GIve up! He decided to try and loosen up Tatsumi over a round or two of drinks and see is they couldn't find some common ground. It would be good to relax bit before Leone and Lubbock got back. And Tatsumi needed to lighten up as it was.

"Tatsumi, come talk with me for a bit." Tatsumi looked over warily at Bulat. In the back of his mind he was still plotting his revenge for striping him like a skinned fish. "O...k…" They sat down at a table in the more dimly lit bar area of the Night raid base. Tatsumi actually hadn't visited this room yet. "Why exactly are you dragging me down here aga_Do I smell coffee?" Bulat raised an eyebrow at this. It was very out of character for Tatsumi to lose focus, "You a coffee man Tatsumi?" The young man nodded his head vigorously. "How do you like your coffee?" "Black and filled with ire" Bulat sweatdropped at the pun, but still he respected Tatsumi Taste, and pulled out some Whiskey to mix into the coffee. "Please don't make puns around Najenda, she really doesn't need encouragement." Tatsumi was taking a whetstone to one of his knives "Knife to see you guys aren't really all that punny. Very fitting for assassins." Oh God no...there's another one of them. "Seriously Tatsumi, please. Spare us. I am begging you."

An evil glint passes through Tatsumi's eyes. The cold light of dawn pours in through the few windows in Night Raids bar. It would be to Bulat's detriment, and the rest of Night Raids torment that Najenda would choose this exact moment to get a drink from the cellar. Bulat's face fell. He knew his impending doom was coming. There was no stopping it now. "Hey, Boss I heard you like puns, I've got a few good rib grippers to tickle that funny bone of yours." Najenda froze in place, her back was turned to them."Please Tatsumi, i'll do anything..."

"I'm sure you remember that I promised Bulat I would have my revenge, I think I just found my Pun-ishment for him. See people like to say that I'm a pretty punny person on purpose. Nope. unintended." Najenda began to shake. Bulat had given up hope now. They had crossed the point of no return. "Come on boss, why no reaction? Do my jokes have bad chemistry?" Najenda had begun to shake violently, she was clutching her stomach and bending over, fighting every impulse to laugh. "Strange, normally when I do this I'm a killer." Najenda appeared to be in pain now. Bulat was trying to drown everything out in alcohol and coffee. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, the other day I found a grizzly and told him some of my puns, he really couldn't bear them" Najenda finally burst out laughing.

Somewhere in the Capital Lubbock felt a disturbance in the force. Someone had made a grave mistake. "Should I get a mechanic boss, you seem to have broken down?" Having lost his faith in humanity at this point Bulat finally spoke up "What did I do to earn this?…" Tatsumi looked Bulat dead in the eye for the final pun. "Anyone else feel chilly all of the sudden? Must be this dish of revenge I just served. Cold, of course." Najenda started crying she was laughing so hard. "Stop! Please, I can't breath Tatsumi!" to which Tatsumi just smiled as he sipped his coffee filled to the brim with Ire. somewhere deep within the recesses of his mind the demonic voice thought simply to itself **… I've raised a monster…**

An hour or so passes, and Bulat finally regains his will to live, through the power of Caffeine and Alcohol. He has learned his lesson. Don't fuck with Tatsumi. Najenda had left, cackling to herself uncontrollably. Sadistic son of a bitch, you have unleashed a beast onto this world. "All joking aside you did say you wanted to talk with me Bulat?" Bulat smiled weakly, desperately trying to cling onto his normal persona, but naturally most of that Bravado was drowned in Horror and inebriation. "Please, call me Bro Tatsumi, we're...comrades….now. Bulat just feels so formal to me." Tatsumi resisted the urge to pun...barely. "Ok...Bro." Bulat sighed as the atmosphere took on more somber feel to it.

"You know, I used to be in the Imperial Army" Tatsumi was very interested in this fact. It was odd to think of anyone in Night Raid being loyal to the empire. Except Najenda of course. "I used to be known as the One-Hundred Man Slayer. Back then I served under a man name River. We tried to clean up the capital and be heroes for the people. But River wouldn't take bribes from the prime minister, so Honest had him falsely accused of treason and imprisoned." Tatsumi's face fell. That name felt familiar to him. "What happened to him?" "I don't know, I took Incursio and ran for it. Some months later and I made my way into the revolutionary army. Eventually I found myself joining Night Raid. Cleaning up the Capital again, just from the shadows this time around."

Tatsumi thought for a bit on this, he began to wonder what everyone's story was. What had lead everyone to join Night Raid. He took a deep breath in, letting the intense scent of his coffee clear out his head a bit. "In the end Tatsumi, It doesn't matter what lead us here. We've all accepted the path we've chosen. We've all accepted that we could all die at any moment. But we're dedicated to trying to help heal this empire. Even if it stains our hands in blood." Tatsumi's bangs overshadowed his eyes. "I don't think anyone in the empire doesn't have blood on their hands. That's what this world has come to. How far society has fallen. Because everyone has to kill just to survive. The question is, who chose for that blood to be human's, and why they chose to take human lives." Tatsumi and Bulat sat for some hours, talking over their drinks and learning more about each other. Tatsumi had come to accept Bulat as someone he could at least confide in as an assassin. But Tatsumi didn't yet trust Bulat enough to tell him about the demons in his head.

* * *

_Lubbock_

Lubbock sighed as he and Leone returned from the Capital, they hadn't really been able to learn much about either of their objectives. Wild hunt didn't generally use or show off their Teigu in public so there was little to go off of in regards to what they are capable of. In fact the only things that Lubbock and Leone had found out about them was that most of them were royally fucked up rapists, murderers, and sadists. As much as he hated it he had to use Cross-tail multiple time to keep Leone from trying to jump in and save their victims. It made them both sick, having to stand by as innocent people were picked off and tormented. Leone was still pissed at him for holding her back from trying to tear them apart. But at least they could agree on one thing. After learning what he had done to Ogre, it wasn't a good idea to let him know what kind of people Wild Hunt were. They had faith in their comrades capabilities. But they still didn't want to risk him getting killed out of some twisted sense of sadistic justice.

Najenda informed Lubbock that he Would be taking Tatsumi back into the Capital to help him run the Bar, and ease him into some of the Espionage tasks of Night Raid. She also made it clear to Lubbock that the point behind him Taking Tatsumi into the Capital was so that Tatsumi wouldn't be here when the reinforcements arrive, She wanted to try and ease them into his life rather than having them show up out of nowhere. Especially since one of them's direct orders were to try and get into his head. "Miss Najenda, are you sure it's wise to let them near Tatsumi at all? He's already incredibly reclusive and we've barely gotten him to open up to us at all. I would be willing to bet that trying to get him to open up forcibly will end terribly." "we don't have a choice Lubbock, The higher ups back at the revolutionary army want to utilize Tatsumi as fully as possible. In fact, while they didn't directly state it, they suggested the hope that Tatsumi might be able to activate Susanoo."

Lubbock considered the implications behind this action. "They...We, barely know anything about Tatsumi, aside from his ability to sit us all down on our asses, we know pretty much nothing about his past. Why would they risk giving such a powerful weapon to someone that is essentially a rogue piece on the board?" Najenda lit a cigar. Puffing on it as she considered the implications of Lubbock's question. "The only way to reap great reward is to gamble on a great risk. It's up to us to make sure that Tatsumi is loyal to Night Raid and the Revolution. That's why it's so important that he open up to us. They are hoping that his power may be able to grow enough to contest, and overcome Esdese. It's imperative that he's loyal" "That's a massive gamble miss Najenda, Tatsumi's powerful, beyond a doubt. But I don't think he's powerful enough to Kill Esdese"

Najenda took a long draw from her cigar. "He may be our only hope Lubbock, it's not like we really have any other options. It makes me feel sick, but the higher ups are so desperate that they ordered our new recruit to do whatever it takes to ensure Tatsumi's loyalty. Even if it means seducing him." Lubbock was a shameless pervert at heart, Many broken bones from the various women who caught him trying to peep would attest to that. But he had limits, this quite frankly was appalling to hear about from the higher ups. "So they're whoring some poor girl out on a gamble." Najenda took a puff of her cigar, obviously trying to relax. The topic clearly made her sick to her stomach. "She's well aware of what she's doing. I hope that she wouldn't be forced to do this, and that she agreed to it." They both looked downcast. "Tatsumi would tear them apart." Najenda cracked a small smile at this. "Ironic isn't it..." They both considered the young man. Eventually Lubbock sighed and searched around the base for the young man.

Lubbock and Tatsumi got to talking on the way to the Capital. Lubbock was surprised to learn about Tatsumi's seismic-mapping capabilities and the fact that another spy network was present within the Capital. They considered the implications of another spy network and tried to work out

As many of the details that they could based on the information Tatsumi had gained on his tour with Mine earlier that day. Together they determined that whoever this spy networked belonged to they had to know about Night raids network, if they hadn't already infiltrated it. However they weren't sure about allegiances. Considering the idea of a breach in security it was highly odd that Night raid hadn't been harassed by attacks and had been allowed to move freely like normal around the Capital. It was possible that this spy network belonged to another branch of the revolution, but they dismissed this idea considering how complex the network was. If the revolution had a hand in such an extensive information pool Night raid would have a far easier time going about their missions. Especially if they were able to make use of the various hidden tunnel systems below the Capital grounds.

Tatsumi had even suggested using Cross-tail to try and breach this network and try to learn more. Using a device blueprint he invented so that they could use the strings to record up to six various vocal tones in an area. The vibrations would cause specific disruptions at specific phonic frequencies that could be decoded back into human speech patterns. Which means that all they had to do was find a way to lay lines of these specific strings in base hubs of the Spy network to be able to effectively listen into conversations occurring within these bases. Lubbock actually found himself getting rather excited as they went over various mechanisms and tricks Lubbock could use around the capital by utilizing Cross-tail. Fully implemented they could turn the entire Capital into a trap Hell. unfortunately though this plan was extensive enough that even with the entirety of night raid attempting to work on it, the plan would take several months to get up and running, and months more to properly test out and have functioning at one-hundred percent capacity.

Still, Lubbock internalised the Fact that Tatsumi was an incredibly ingenuitive mind. While they may never be able to implement plans as incredible as the one laid out before them now. They would still be able to come up with plans for the future. Be it traps or espionage machines like the one they planned to use to figure out this spy network, mechanisms like the ones Tatsumi proved capable of inventing could very easily be invaluable alongside Cross-tail. The trick was figuring out all of the proper implementations of Cross-tail towards their goals. Hell when they reached the bar Tatsumi layed out a plan that would productively Automate the bar. As well as rig it down as a small bunker inside the Capital, this bunker mechanism would come in quite handy for Night Raids imperial base hidden in the library towards the "employee" section of the bar.

Hours Passed while they worked at the bar, devising various mechanisms together when they had some down time. Tatsumi kept an Eye on the Aura's of everyone who walked into the bar to avoid letting anything important be heard by unwanted ears. He also kept an eye on other physical factors of the bars patronage by practicing his seismic-echo. He had nearly developed out the skill enough that he could use it subconsciously. Eventually they would close up shop and head back to the base. Akame would intercept them there, telling Tatsumi to go hunt for food with her. Lubbock honestly wasn't sure if this was part of the plan to keep Tatsumi away for the time being. In all honesty this was really normal for Akame, so it was hard to tell if there were any ulterior motives. Honestly even if there is ulterior motives it probably wouldn't matter to Akame because, and I quote. "Food."

* * *

 **_Akame_**

Akame was currently dragging Tatsumi some several miles to the east of the Night raid base, She was following a stream so he figured she wanted to go hunting for fish of some sort. "So where are we headed Akame?" Akame was humming to herself as she dragged him along. "We're heading towards a special Waterfall spring. It's one of the only places in the world to find Koga Tuna." This was one of the few danger beasts Tatsumi had never successfully tracked down as it were. "Go figure. It'll be nice to finally cook one of these for myself." "You've never cooked one?" Akame looked dejected at this, clearly having set an insanely high standard to his cooking. "In theory I can cook them just as well as anything else. It's not like i haven't cooked all kinds of Aquatic danger beasts before. Just never personally been able to use Koga Tuna as an ingredient." Akame began to think of all of the dishes Tatsumi could make. Her mouth started watering. He braced himself.

Akame blitzed across the ground, Tatsumi just closed his eyes until she stopped. In a few seconds they found themselves in front of a watering spring. Tatsumi too a moment to consider the fact that it was nothing short of a miracle that the two wicker baskets they had brought along were unscratched. A loud popping sound echoed around the forest for a bit. Tatsumi realised that it was just the sonic boom catching up to them. Tatsumi just sighed at the ridiculousness of it all. He enjoyed the scent of the freshwater spring. Deciding to take things in stride. Akame was staring at her reflection in the pool.

"You ok Akame?" This was kind of blindsiding him actually. It had come out of nowhere for the normally reserved Woman. "I'm scared Tatsumi. I don't want to lose anyone." Tatsumi did something extremely unexpected for him. He pulled Akame into a hug. "I'm trying Akame...i'm trying to gain the strength to protect you all." Akame was shuddering. Tatsumi couldn't figure out where this came from or why,but it didn't matter. He would be there for her. Just like he had promised her. Wait...promised her? When did I promise Akame anything? "You can't do this alone Tatsumi!" she gripped his shirt tightly trying to convey the sense of importance to him. "You don't know that Akame. I've somehow gotten this far on my own." She was shaking. Why didn't he understand. How couldn't he understand how much she had already lost. "Akame, i'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to let this war be the death of me. I promise" He held the young Woman close. He wondered why she trusted him so much. He couldn't possibly know that those were the exact same words he had used, promising that he would survive, to Akame some years ago."Night raid is my pack now, i'm not going to let my pack fall behind, and i will Never abandon them." Akame began to calm down, feeling comforted in Tatsumi's Arms. Once again this felt Familiar to the young woman, and his words reminded her of something long ago. She couldn't quite place it though.

Akame's stomach Grumbled, breaking the tension between them. She schooled her features, returning back to the epicure executioner she normally was. Tatsumi laughed, for what was the first time in years. "Come on Akame, let's get some fish and go home. I'm sure you could use a good meal. Tatsumi Placed his hands behind his Head taking in a deep breath. He always enjoyed the setting of nature. The soothing smell and sounds of undisrupted sounds always put him at peace. He turned to Akame to ask her how she intended on catching the fish. Steam started pouring out his head. He turned a shade of read that matched the young woman's eyes. All sense of rational thought went out the door as he took in a nearly completely stripped down Akame. Without thinking he just dived into the spring, leaving behind only his Coat. Akame looked up from her absorbed state of mind. "Tatsumi? Where did you go." And then it began to rain fish. Koga Tuna flew out of The pond rapidly, Akame immediately worked to make sure none of them went to waste catching each and every one until eventually the two basket were full. She waited a few moments as the water bubbled.

Tatsumi finally crawled out of the water with two more Tuna in tow. Tatsumi looked at the baskets, doing everything he could to keep his eyes off of Akame's flawless body. He mentally slapped himself every time his mind wandered towards her. And it really didn't help that the Dark voice in his head kept telling him to let his instincts take over. Of course there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that he'd let anyone know the exact wording the voice used in it's suggestions. He considered the the two tuna in his arm and decided he would give Night raid a small surprise.

They left his arms flying into the sky in a graceful display of "What the fuck?" given a few moments they would find their mark. They flew in through the window of the night Raid mess hall as they waited for Akame and Tatsumi to return with food. Leone screamed as they crashed in front of her. Flapping together in a disturbing manner. She scrambled away from the intrusion "Fucking Flying Fish!". Najenda's head hit the table as she began to laugh uncontrollably. Bulat, who had been pouring himself a small cup of sake, took a look a this cup before he threw back the bottle down his throat; Hoping to spare himself from round two of his punishment. Leone looked on in horror as Najenda banged a fist on the table.

Akame and Tatsumi headed home with their catch. Tatsumi was wary of someone who was following them along their path. He would have attacked or at least let akame know, but the scent he caught from the Aubornette already trailed back from Night Raid's base, and she had the others scent on her as well. It also helped that she had been following him all day long so he was quite aware that she had been frequently making contact with various members of night raid. He kept a close eye on her, but made sure not to let her know that she had been caught. He figured this was the reinforcements that Najenda had been keeping him away from all day. He held the suspicion that Najenda wasn't telling him everything she knew, and this had something to do with why he was being spied on so closely now.

This suspicion had become apparent when he asked her who Colonel Tatsumi was. She avoided the question completely, clearly trying to keep Him from looking into the person with his name. He had been hearing people speak about rumours that the Colonel's phantom had come to the Capital, taking revenge on people who wronged the innocent. It didn't take Tatsumi long to figure out that His two kills, Ogre and Zanku, had been attributed as being punished by the Phantom of the Dragon, as they called him. Whoever the Colonel had been, it would seem that Both Tatsumi's held the same Modus Operandi. Tatsumi was very interested in figuring out who this Colonel was. He contemplated this as his companion and pursuant went home.

* * *

 **_Chelsea_**

Chelsea, followed Tatsumi and Akame back to the base. Her mission was to try and get into Tatsumi's head, and as such she was invested in figuring the young man out. But she found him to be very confusing. Every report showed him as a highly reserved person.  
But all day she had seen him opening up to the Night raid members he had been interacting with. Even if he seemed a bit distracted by something else. It was still highly out of character for the young man. At least he was really attractive. It would make some of the more...unsavory instructions of hers easier to move through. And he could be quite cute at times. She would be sure to use his reaction to Akame stripping against him somehow. She twirled a lollipop around in her mouth as she thought evilly about ways to wrap Tatsumi around her finger. Her target shuddered.

Wind blew throughout the forest as they made their way back. As Tatsumi and akame reached the door Chelsea snuck in through a window, quickly working her way down to the mess hall so it would seem she had been at the base rather than spying on them. She watched from the doorway, thinking up how to properly introduce herself to the young man. She figured that knocking him down a peg would be fun so she turned herself into a Cat and began to pace around the room. Waiting for the chance to start messing with Tatsumi. She perched herself on a windowsill, swishing her tail around as he and Akame cooked. Leone kept trying to pay Tatsumi back for the flying fish fro earlier by teasing him. Unlike his reaction to Akame he kept himself perfectly in check. Chelsea figured that Akame had managed to catch Tatsumi off guard and he showed his actual feelings about the female filed this away for later use. If she was going to seduce him she would have to know how to get under his skin. Eventually all men reacted the same. But getting them to react that way is what can vary.

Tatsumi inquired about Susanoo who stood in the corner of the room quietly watching everyone as they interacted. "What's with the bio-teigu? Is he one of our new reinforcements?" Najenda answered him proudly. "Yes, originally it was planned that we would hold onto him while we looked out for a suitable wielder to activate him. But as soon as he Got here he woke up! Apparently I resemble his former master, he recognised my potential and now I am his new master!" Tatsumi smiled to himself. Few people could hear it, and chelsea only knew he said it because she can lip read, but he had muttered that there was some level of Irony here. And true to Form Susanoo would answer soon. "Indeed, miss najenda bears a striking resemblance to my former wielder, one might mistake them for identical twins." Najenda smiled proudly. "She must have been a great leader!" Tatsumi felt the disturbance coming, he ducked into the kitchen quickly to avoid the fallout, He pulled Akame….and subsequently Schere who had gotten in the way accidentally, along with him. "Yes. He, was a great man." Bulat facepalmed, realising the Hell that was about to follow. Leone began to chug her beer t keep herself from laughing. Mine and Lubbock weren't quite as wise. They had begun to snort and chuckly to themselves from the Irony. Chelsea just sweatdropped while Najenda beat them them both upside the head for a good while. A vein was threatening to burst in Najenda's forehead, that had been a significant blow to her ego.

Tatsumi poked his head around the corner, Najenda had sat down and was pouting. Sighing in relief that it was now safe. He and Akame brought out the food, he Asked Susanoo if he needed food, to which susanoo politely replied that it was unnecessary for him to eat food. Tatsumi sat akame down with an extra large plate of fish, knowing she would eat everyone else's food if she passed them out. Chelsea's tail swished again, she was beginning to figure out her plan of attack. Tatsumi placed out nine place settings, A detail that did in fact go missed by Chelsea. He poured himself a glass of red wine and sat down to enjoy his food.

Chelsea hopped down from the window, she stretched out leisurely and hopped onto the table she worked her way over to Tatsumi, sitting down in front of his plate. "Nya?" Tatsumi ignored her as he swirled his wine around clearly relaxed after all of the days events. He seemed distracted again. Chelsea put a paw out slowly, reaching out with her claws to snatch some of the meat away from his plate. He languidly pulled the plate away from her. "Your plate is over there." He said gesturing towards an empty seat a the end of the was watching closely, having figured out where the random ass cat had come from, or more accurately having figured out who the cat actually was.

A poof of smoked popped out from the cat, Chelsea was now leaning over Tatsumi. Akame and Leone actually put down there meat, glaring at the new girl currently pressing herself up against Tatsumi. Chelsea just licked Tatsumi's cheek, causing him to twitch. "Awww. how'd you know it was me Tat~su~mi. I thought my disguise was purrfect." SHe pressed herself further against him wrapping her arms around his neck. Lubbock tried to look up her skirt from his vantage point before Leone slammed his head down on the table knocking him out. Mine was staring at Chelsea with extreme Ire.

Tatsumi's tone was cold, the very same cold he used with Mine when he scared her. "If I were you, I would watch my next move, very carefully." Tatsumi moved his wrist slightly, letting Chelsea feel the needle that was prepared to slide into her neck. Chelsea realised that he was capable of killing her without the slightest bit of effort right now. She climbed off of the table not feeling quite as confident as she had before. "How did you know it was me" Tatsumi sipped his wine, very clearly unbothered by what just happened. "Too many things are off with your disguise, the smell, the aura, the fact that i knew we had reinforcements coming in, the fact that you've been following me all day."

Chelsea was very scared now, Nobody had ever caught her so far off guard before. Tatsumi stood up from the table and approached her. She backed away instinctively. His cold glare more than enough to remind her of the look she often times had on her face when she killed a mark. She bumped into the wall behind her. "You are far to reliant on your Teigu. Take it away and you are nothing. You've become addicted to the drug of power these weapons hold. Had it been anyone else, you would be dead right now." Bulat found it prudent to pipe up now. "Chelsea actually said something very similar to all of us earlier." Tatsumi thought for a second as Chelsea shivered against the wall. "Often times the weaknesses we see in others we are at fault of ourselves."

Tatsumi looked at Chelsea. Deciding he needed to talk to her and get to know his new comrade a little better he acted to make sure that she felt a little more at ease near him. So he booped her on the nose. "Calm down i'm not going to hurt you. HE left towards the door Gesturing for her to follow him." A little shakenly she began to pursue him outside. He took her about a mile out, to the very same precipice where Ieyasu was buried, and where Akame had dragged him to Night Raid. She watched him closely. He leaned down near the ground. SHe couldn't really hear him from where she was but she thought she heard him say hello. He walked over to the edge of the precipice to the abyss below and let his legs hang off. "Are you going to join me or are you just going to stand there and stare." Chelsea approached him Warily. She let herself sit side legged a couple of feet away from Tatsumi. "The grave behind us. That belongs to a friend who came to the capital with me. He was taken in by a sadistic family that tormented and Poisoned him. He barely survived long enough to see me kill the last of his torturers." She looked at the man young man with wide eyes. She was surprised that he would let her in at all.

"Chelsea. Whatever brought you here, whatever hurt you and brought you to this point. It doesn't define you. You aren't defined by the people you weren't strong enough to protect. You are only defined by yourself. If you are afraid of losing people, let that drive you to become stronger. If you are afraid to Let people in, take a step outside of your comfort. Even if it's only one person. There is someone who won't break your trust. If you are afraid for the future, then work to make it brighter." Chelsea felt a lot more at ease now. She could see the passion in his eyes, even if his tone sounded more broken. She felt more comfortable trying to tease him a bit again. But she wouldn't be trying to mess with the young man. She felt that she would be better served just being herself around him. The wind blew around them. Tatsumi's coat billowed out behind him.

Chelsea scooted over to Tatsumi and leaned into him. Tatsumi didn't really notice, he was absorbed into the Sunset. He was doing everything he could to drown out that voice in his head. And Chelsea was going to take full advantage of his distraction. She slowly maneuvered herself into the crook of his arm. She face outwards so that her back was leaning into him. It was to her benefit that he was really out of it, but this wasn't to say she didn't have espionage skills she wasn't putting to use here. "Hey Tatsumi could you move over a little dear, i'm not quite comfortable enough yet." Her plan would work out better than intended. Still absolutely oblivious to what was going on he made the mistake of lifting his arm. He didn't register the low moan from Chelsea. He felt something soft in his hand. And for some reason in his infinite wisdom his instinct was to squeeze.

This time his mind did register the moan that came from the now deviously smirking Chelsea. He snapped back to reality as all of the blood drained away from his face. "My oh my Tatsumi, I didn't think you'd be so forward." He un-clenched his hand and attempted to extricate himself from the Aubornette vixen. His voice croaked out. "S...S...Sorry…."Chelsea found it absolutely adorable how flustered he was, especially considering how scary he can make himself out to be. His entire body was stiff and refused to move the way he wanted it to. Chelsea pushed him down to the ground leaning her full body into him, much to his chagrin and embarrassment. "Well... if it's you I might not mind so much... " her voice hada husky tone to it. She pushed some of her hair back behind her ear. Tatsumi's mind short circuited at this point. Pretty much the only remaining, rational process running in his head was the demonic voice telling him to procreate. If he was even able to register the voice at all at the moment he might wonder why the only things it ever told him to do were destroy the world or act on primal instinct. And he might realise that technically all it ever said was to act on his primal instincts, the difference was just context.

Finally Chelsea Giggled to herself. "You know Tatsumi, you're really cute when you get caught off guard. Better watch your back around me. I think I quite like seeing you like this." Tatsumi still remained frozen on the ground as she got up off of him. Chelsea realized his brain still hadn't quite caught up with reality. So she decided to give him one last little tease before heading in for the night. She leaned down and licked his cheek again. "Nyaght Tat~su~mi." Whatever booting process had been going underway was fried all over again. And then she began to skip happily back towards the base. Content with her revenge on Tatsumi for scaring her in front of everyone. On her way over she noticed Schere staring out at Tatsumi, who had finally regained some of his senses and was currently rubbing his temples trying to process what just happened. Chelsea just smirked to herself and resumed happily skipping back home.

* * *

 **_Schere_**

She approached the still reeling young man quietly. She couldn't explain it but he felt warn to her. She always felt like she was at home when she was around him. He froze when she got close to him. Her aura was still disturbing to him. He couldn't describe the way it felt to him. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was invasive in an all enveloping way. And it just felt blank. Like it could be filled with something, or rather, it should be filled with something. But, it just felt blank. Chere wrapped her arms around the young man, it would be almost comforting the way she was holding him to her, if it wasn't for the disturbing nature of her Tatsumi's instinct kicked in while he was still in a mental shock because of Chelsea. His own Aura began to push out against schere, it wasn't filled with malice or anything,it was just fighting back against hers. To Tatsumi's surprise, the Aura's didn't clash together. Normally when two forces of will come together a collision occurs between the two. Tatsumi's guess was that because of the Null nature of Schere's Aura his was able to meld into hers and annex a bit of his own experiences and feelings into her. It was like writing onto a blank page. She leaned herself into him, which put Tatsumi on edge for an entirely different reason Damn you Chelsea, Damn you.

Schere actually seemed extremely comfortable with Tatsumi's Aura as it bled into hers."Warm." Tatsumi forced himself to relax. He decided he may as well try and get to know Schere. "What exactly is someone like you doing in Night raid anyway?" she pulled him in a little tighter, resting her chin on his head. Tatsumi felt like an overgrown Teddy bear at this point. "Hm? Oh...I'm not really sure. I just kind of found myself here one day. I used to live in a wealthy district in the Capital. I spent most of my days with a young woman. She was my best friend, the only person who wasn't afraid of or annoyed by me. I couldn't find a job that i could keep because of my airheadedness. I was always breaking things or messing up my tasks. She took me in though, she didn't judge me. I followed her around everywhere but I'm not sure what happened to her. One day she had come over to my house crying. I just remember answering the door and Her boyfriend was in the doorway. He smelt drunk. He shoved me out of the way and began to strangle my best friend. He was screaming at her. For once in my life, I felt absolutely calm and clear minded. I grabbed a Kitchen knife that was nearby and stabbed it into his neck. He fell to the ground gurgling and bleeding out. My friend ran away. I never saw her again. But I began to carry around a knife, it made me feel more at ease to have a weapon on me. It turned out that my friend's boyfriend was an imperial officer, his friends surrounded me in the streets one day, they told me they had killed my family already and were going to kill me. I wasn't afraid. I just grabbed the knife I was carrying and killed them all. It felt easy to me. Eventually I signed on as a mercenary since the only thing I'm good at is killing. I guess Najenda heard about me one day and took me in. So now I'm here."

Two things were running through Tatsumi's head right now. One: Damn she's actually incredibly articulate, I'm surprised I never noticed how soothing her voice is...reminds me of music somehow. And two: Tatsumi finally realized why her Aura was so incredibly bothersome to him. The pure nature of her Aura had a forcefully calming effect. It was literally forcing peace to run through him, and this fought against every instinct in his body. "You're wrong you know. Killing isn't the only thing you're good at." As Tatsumi let the peace flow through him, growing accustomed to the incredibly foreign feeling to him. He began to drift off, the exhaustion of years without a good night's sleep finally catching up to him. "What do you mean?"

Tatsumi fought to stay awake. His instinct still keeping him from succumbing to the now numbing feel of peace. As Schere began to pet him absentmindedly, His strength of will began to completely give out. At this point, there were only a few moments before sleep would take him. "You're calming. Just being near you puts everyone at ease." Tatsumi gave up fighting at this moment. Only focusing on staying awake long enough to converse with the violenette. "...Thank You, Tatsumi. That means a lot to me." Tatsumi gave a small smile, he no longer had the strength to keep his eyes open. "Anytime Schere...I hope you'll forgive me but I think I'll be...falling...asleep...now..." She pulled him in closer as his body relaxed into sleep for the first time in years. His breathing steadied out. "Don't worry Tatsumi I'll stay with you."

The next day rolled around and night raid went looking for their missing teammates. When Najenda brought it up Chelsea just started cackling. She dragged everyone out to Ieyasu's grave where Tatsumi and Schere were. Akame actually didn't feel Jealous regarding Schere, but the same couldn't be said for Leone. Chelsea would, of course, rather die than admit it, but she did feel a twinge of envy towards the violenette. Lubbock just popped in randomly "I didn't know Tatsumi was capable of sleeping. Does anyone else find something inherently wrong with the idea of him being vulnerable?" Leone just looked off to the side, She was scheming ways to make use of this and was trying to figure out how she could take advantage of the situation. Najenda agreed with Lubbock, especially given who she knew him to be, the image of The armored enigma she had known didn't match up with vulnerable at all. And then Bult came in asking the real question. "So who's suicidal enough to wake them up, because of I sure as fuck ain't doing it?"

Akame walked up to the two and bent down. She poked Tatsumi in the cheek with a deadpan on her face "Hey, wake up, it's breakfast time." Everyone sweatdropped. Tatsumi's eyes opened and he leaned forward slowly rising from the depths of slumber like the dead. The bags under his eyes had become defined after his sleep, it would seem they had become a permanent addition to his visage. His mind caught up with him and it had never felt so clear. He had no idea when the last time he slept without any nightmares was. But he knew something was very off. Schere was still waking up so he took the moment to freak the ever living fuck out of the members of Night Raid, especially Chelsea, Leone, and Lubbock who he knew were scheming ways to use this against him.

His head turned slowly towards his victims, his killing intent flowing out of him in a flood of fear-inducing miasma, with his mind clear and well rested he was able to control it to a far higher degree than he normally could. "Speak of this, ever again, and you will know horrors, unlike anything you can imagine." And just like that, the feeling was gone. They got the message. They regained their senses. Najenda was slightly worried about Susanoo who seemed Catatonic from Tatsumi's Killing intent. "Food." Tatsumi just sighed at Akame, Gently he got Schere up and they all walked back into the base. Najenda let Tatsumi and Schere know that they had missions tonight, They needed to take some people out quickly because word had gotten back that Esdese was heading back to the Capital. Apparently, she was very interested in the concept of Tatsumi's rumours. Rumours that had spread throughout the entire empire now.

Schere was to go on a mission with Mine into the Capital to take out a former confidante of the late Ogre. A sex Trafficker by the name of Gamal. The mission itself went smoothly...at first. Schere and Mine had Taken out Gamal with extreme ease they hadn't met any resistance going into the capital or Gamal's compound. And this should have been the first clue that everything would soon go to shit. They had just reached the edge of the Capital when they were intercepted by a brunette woman. Bullet's hit the ground in front of them as she walked out, she had a biological teigu. It looked like a small strange dog, but both Mine and Schere recognized Hecatoncheires from the information log In the night raid library. "Halt Night Raid! You will be brought to justice!" Schere and Mine attempted to run away and escape but found themselves blocked off by the now gigantic Teigu.

The brunette kept two sub-machine guns trained on them. "Come peacefully Night Raid. This doesn't have to end in a fight." Schere attempted to cut through the Teigu Using Extase, only to find it regrowing the damaged area easily. And now she was split apart from Mine, reinforcement soldiers came in to back up the Brunette. "Schere, to take out a biological teigu you have to take out it's core, it will only regenerate endlessly if you don't. Bullets began to rain down on the two of them from the various Soldiers. Mine began to fire into the crowd taking them out in bulk with Pumpkin while Schere defended from the Biological Teigu. The brunette began to fire at Schere trying to get her pinned down. Schere's reflexes kept any bullets from reaching her, and Extase proved highly effective in keeping the bio-teigu down enough that it couldn't effectively attack her since it was constantly regenerating.

And then everything got much worse. "Oi, Police Bitch, stand aside, Wild Hunt will take care of this now." A cloaked man followed by three other people. Two other Teigu users stepped into the fight. Schere completely lost sight of Mine. She was completely focused on fending off the bio-teigu as well as looking out for any other attacker that would be coming. "I have this under control sir, I can capture them!" A short-haired man with a scimitar barreled through her cutting off her legs in the process. She screamed and called out to her Teigu, now identified as Koro. "Out of my way bitch, you won't keep me from having my fun." But this man found himself blocked off by a very Pissed off gigantic dog. Schere took her chance and tried to make her way back to Mine, who she found was struggling to fend off two other Wild hunt members, one with a microphone Teigu and a ronin looking man who was deflecting her blasts with a Katana. Mine was covered in cuts.

Out of nowhere, A flash of white flew at Mine. The man with the Scimitar came running in. He had broken the brunette's arms and tortured her to call of Koro. Mine screamed as her back split open. Blood poured from the wound. Schere looked at Mine in horror. She mouthed something out to Schere. Schere began to cry. Mine activated Pumpkin's self-destruction protocol. The man with the Katana came in and slashed at her tearing an arm off. And then the man with the Scimitar came in and stabbed her through the chest. Schere Used Extase' Trump card. A blinding flash of white blasted out across the battlefield. No one saw where she went as she escaped. Pumpkin exploded completely erasing its final user and destroying the entire field where she last was. Schere made her way back home. Her heart felt cold.

* * *

 **_Leone_**

Meanwhile, Leone and Tatsumi would find themselves having a much more quiet night in the red light district. Tatsumi was, of course, being teased by Leone since he was so flustered by the women of the night. But really what Leone enjoyed most was getting to flaunt Tatsumi around as "hers". Tatsumi had spent most of the night on their mission unsure of what Leone's intentions were. Frankly, he was terrified for his chastity. But it would turn to his favor when they finally climbed up onto the roofs to put their mission underway. He stretched out while Leone activated her Teigu Lionelle. They both watched their targets as they walked into a warehouse towards one of the more crowded areas of the district. They were on the clock but of course, Leone wouldn't stop teasing him. Tatsumi was ignoring her tail as it slid under his shirt. Don't pinch the tail, don't pinch the tail, it won't end well, don't pinch the tail…

All teasing aside they raced across the rooftops towards the warehouse their target had gone into. Tatsumi popped open a vent on the roof and they headed inside. As they crawled though they both began to smell something extremely sickly sweet. They found a way out of the vents into the attic of the warehouse. Leone heard a lot of noise under the specific area in the attic so they peeled away a ceiling panel and peered into the room below. Tatsumi began to gag in disgust peering into the Drug permeated room below. A plethora of drugged up women were below. Leone covered her mouth to avoid breathing in the gaseous poison. Their targets walked into the room. "All right ladies, you go out and make us some good money tonight and you'll get more of your drugs ok?" all of the woman called out at the same time "ok." Leone had to restrain Tatsumi as he prepared to jump into the room and tear the two men apart with his bare fists.

"Not yet Tatsumi, we have to wait and take out all of them not just their boss." In Tatsumi mind he heard the voice Telling him to cleanse them all. Leone and Tatsumi watched as one woman crawled over to the two men. She was obviously delirious. She kept asking for more. "Great another one broke. At least these whores are a dime a dozen." The man whose legs she was crawling up shot her in the head. "Waste of a good body though." This time Leone stiffened as she held herself back. "That woman was a friend of mine in the slums where I grew up..." Tatsumi just nodded. They followed the to men out of the room. But not before Tatsumi dropped in a concoction into the drug vat. It wouldn't reverse the damage done to the women. But it would clear the drugs out of their system. They would still need professional medical help to make a full recovery.

They found the room where the men had gone too. Tatsumi let Leone know the Boss and his right-hand man were Hers. He dropped outside of the room. Killing one of the two guards posted immediately. The second guard never even got out a word. Tatsumi caught him by the throat, needles jabbing into his neck, one of which cut the spinal cord killing him instantly. Tatsumi used the man's body to shield himself as he walked in. "Pube you ok man, is there something outside?" Tatsumi dropped the corpse away."Pube?! Yeish, I wouldn't have killed the poor sack of shit if I knew life would be that bad for him," Every guard in the room stood up pointing guns at Tatsumi who stood highly unimpressed by the room filled with the dead. The boss yelled out at Tatsumi."What in the?! Who the fuck are you." When Tatsumi didn't answer they all fired their guns. Nobody registered him as he disappeared in a blur of speed. The gunfire stopped and all of the guards fell over, every last one dead in a flash, holes through every one of their skulls from Tatsumi's needles. "We are your Penance."

Leone Dropped in crushing the second in command as her kick tore him in half. She began to strangle the Leader. He didn't even get the Chance to plead for his Life. "Don't even think about it Bastard, you're going. Straight to Hell." Leone's punch rang out like a cannon shot and blew a hole through the man's torso. She dropped the corpse to the ground without a word. "Holy shit my ass is on fire, My Ass is on fire!" Behind them, a man ran by the open door buck ass nude and literally on fire. The two assassin's sweatdropped. Tatsumi sent a needle through his head. "Well, that's one way to screw a mood over." Leone saw her opportunity and pounced. SHe pinned Tatsumi to the wall, pressing herself up against him. "Looking to have some fun Tat~su~mi? I can think of some fun places to set a mood."

I am getting really tired of this, Chelsea's already bothersome enough. "Can we please get those women some help before you try to tease me into an early coma." Tatsumi hated to admit it in his head but Leone's husky voice was a lot more effective on him than Chelsea He wondered if that had something to do with Leone's teigu effectively turning her into a highly trained catgirl assassin. But Chelsea had a more effective way of manipulating him, she had definitely found ways to catch him off guard. Tatsumi found himself lost in thought making comparisons between Leone Akame, Schere, and Chelsea, all of whom had gotten under his skin in one way or another. Subsequently, he also began to wonder what death felt like. Leone, on the other hand, was disappointed by him changing the subject. She was determined not to lose out to Chelsea. She would be the one who messes with him! And she knew exactly how she would mess with him tonight.

Leone and Tatsumi were walking back to the base, they had spent hours moving all of the drugged women over to a hospital where a doctor was willing to help them recover. Leone leaned into Tatsumi as they walked home. He prepared himself to have to fend off her tail. And then he realized her teigu wasn't activated, so she didn't have a tail right now. This night had been unwillingly burned into Tatsumi's mind...too much tail. "Sooo that took longer than expected." Tatsumi shrugged, wrapping his hands behind, Tatsumi relaxed glad that Leone was just trying to talk to him instead of teasing him like she had been doing. All. Night. Long. "Meh, so long as those women get help and a chance at normal life again what does it matter." And then Tatsumi found himself frozen in place.

Leone had forced his arms away from his head, wrapping her arms around him so that she had his arms pinned to the side while she held him tightly to her. Tatsumi realized the reason he couldn't break free was because Leone had activated lionelle while he was distracted her tail slid under his shirt once again for that night. She leaned down slightly. He shuddered as he felt her breath in his ear. Leone knew she had already succeeded in getting to him at this point. SHe whispered in his ear, the soft tone was confident and devious. "You know Tatsumi, when you finally let yourself relax, you really make a girl feel warm, it's very sweet." Tatsumi's mind had already started to screech. And then Leone bit the bottom of his ear, drawing blood that she licked up quickly. "You're mine now Tatsumi, I've just marked my territory." It was at this point that Tatsumi's mind shut down completely. Leone giggled to herself and they walked the rest of the way home in Total silence.

It began to rain. When they arrived back at the base, almost everyone was waiting for them. Tatsumi realized what was wrong almost immediately. "Where is she..." Najenda tried to answer him "Tatsumi." "Where is Mine?" Tatsumi Saw Schere crying. He didn't have took look around, he knew what had happened. He didn't have to see that Akame was Catatonic, He didn't have to see Bulat's Look of determined Hatred, He didn't have to see Chelsea's fear or Lubbock's sorrow. He knew she was dead. Mine had died. Tatsumi had failed to protect them. Tatsumi had failed to protect another person. Find them, tear them apart for taking her away from you. A mirror appeared behind Tatsumi he just stepped back into the reflection and disappeared. Night raid didn't have to wonder where he had gone off to for long. His screams, the force of his killing intent left nothing to the Imagination.

* * *

_Tatsumi_

 ** _Give in little one, cleanse the world in a dance of flames._** "No..." thunder crackled around him. The rain was drenching Tatsumi. _**Leave the innocent to clean up the deluge of blood.**_ "You are not a part of me..." Tatsumi Gripped his head in pain, Memories began to stream through his mind again. It was another flood of death. **_You won't have to lose anyone anymore._ **"Get out of my head!" Tatsumi began to scream, his killing intent burned away the rain around him. _ **You can erase everything and your friends will no longer have to put themselves in harm's way.**_ "STOP!" Tatsumi Was crying, He didn't want this. He wanted the memories to stop. _**You are meant for so much more than this pathetic life you lead my little one.**_ "I'm not like you!" He crumpled to the ground, shivering from the intensity of his sorrow. **_You could take it all._** "Leave me alone!" wind swirled around him, twisting the miasma of his will into a hurricane around him. If _**you need proof then** **come** **find me my little one, Mother is waiting for you.**_ "I AM NOT LIKE YOU" lightning slammed down around him in a cascade of light, the thunder rang out around him in a cavalcade of booming sound. _**One day you will see. You will see why you must drown this world in Despair.**_ Tatsumi wept, he just wanted this feeling to go away. "I am not like you..." **_And when you do, hope will be able to rise for the innocent._** As the voice left everything came to a calm, the rain began to drench him again as he whimpered. Tatsumi lost himself in the rain, allowing himself to cry.

for added effect turn on TryHardNinja's song: Dream your Dream and then continue.

Tatsumi walked back home, mindlessly wandering the forest on his way back. His heart now numb from all feelings. When he reached the doors he looked up, he looked At mine's window thinking about how she would never be there to look out from it again. He considered how she would never get the chance to see her people be brought justice. He shuddered. Tatsumi dried himself off and went inside. He could feel everyone throughout the building. Leone and Bulat were in the cellar drinking away the pain. Schere was in her room Crying, Chelsea was there with her, comforting her new comrade. Lubbock was tinkering around with Crosstail, both he and Najenda had thrown themselves into work. In Lubbock's case he was working on the plans he and Tatsumi devised. Najenda was pouring over reports and orders form the revolutionary army, figuring out missions to distract everyone from the loss of Mine.

Tatsumi wandered the halls aimlessly. He found Akame in the kitchen. She had made a special kind of Parfait he recognized. Memories of his mission with Mine came to him, she had gotten this same parfait while they had rested for a meal. Akame seemed calm, but her aura was tormented. "It was her favorite. I made it as an offering for her grave." Tatsumi didn't speak. He approached Akame and held his arms out. She bolted to him crushing him in a hug as she buried her head in his chest. She sobbed into him. "I promise you that I'm not going anywhere Akame." He pulled her over to the window ledge. He rested on the windowsill, a leg hanging out over the edge. He pulled Akame in as she cried. "I don't want to lose anyone. I can't lose anyone else." Tatsumi pulled her into him so that she was laying down. And he began to sing. He stared out to the moon, his voice rang out across the halls of Night Raid.

His lullaby distracted everyone if only a little. The somber tones of his voice as it reverberated around the stone walls of their home were soothing. The hum in the bass of his throat bringing a peaceful lull to the base. Akame eventually stopped shuddering. Drifting off to sleep. Najenda lit a cigar as she listened to her old friend's song. Leone and Bulat reflected as they stared into their mugs. Both of them were determined to try and keep everyone alive, but both of them were facing the reality. Any day could easily be their last. Lubbock sat back at his desk, taking in the lyrics of Tatsumi's song. Finding it ironic and well applied in the situation they were in. Schere had fallen asleep to his lullaby. Chelsea was petting her hair as she listened to her mission sing, it was at this point she knew that she could trust Tatsumi.

The song echoed its way throughout the forest. Eventually, it would reach ears it was never Intended for. She found she was rather intrigued by the sorrowful tune whispering throughout the foliage. "Something on your mind Esdese?" "This song...it's strangely powerful. It's not able to really do anything substantial, but it does make my heart ache for some reason. It must be this desire for love I have found myself craving lately." "I still don't understand that from you. All you've been doing for the past two years are chasing down legends, and erasing them since they always disappoint you. That last one was incredibly pathetic… Prince of the north, Hah! Pathetic dog broke in a matter of minutes." "I don't quite understand it myself either Baphomet, but I still find myself with an interest in love lately. Perhaps I will be able to pursue this after we've dealt with Night raid." Esdese enjoyed the feeling of the wind as it blew through the forest. She listened to the song as it rebounded around Her and Baphomet. Letting the feeling's it brought wash over her as the song quieted to an end. It was strange to her, normally she couldn't really appreciate the arts. But She put this out of her mind. She had to meet with her three apprentices and learn about their progress in their mission. And then they had to meet with the Prime minister and his puppet.

Tatsumi didn't sleep at all. He was there on the window sill with Akame all the way until the sun rose. In the morning Najenda had everyone gather in the meeting room and started assigning them missions. Someone had been going around the Capital impersonating Night Raid. They were taking out revolutionary sympathetic politicians who opposed Prime minister Honest. So Tatsumi and Bulat would be guarding a wealthy Lawyer who was christening his new Yacht, a ploy to try and make connections with other revolutionary sympathies. Chelsea, Leone, and Lubbock would be scouting out the Capital trying to track down and Observe Esdese who was supposedly back in the capital, they were expressly told not to engage. Tatsumi reinforced Najenda's order. Sending fear running through them with his will. He had no intention of losing someone else. **_Do not forget my little one, you can always take away your need to fear for them._** Najenda, Schere, and Susanoo would be scouting outside of the capital, they were responding to a small worry that had cropped up regarding humanoid danger beasts around the capital.

Tatsumi cleaned himself up and fitted himself into his gentleman's raiment. He looked at himself in the mirror. The bags under his eyes had become quite defined, Tatsumi realized how worn down he looked for the first time. This was the same crimson suit he wore on his mission with Mine, it held an almost sour feel to it right now. He sighed, and then He and Bulat headed out, ironically the odd men out, and the only evenly numbered team. They had to split up when they got near the capital, Bulat would go through the forest and meet Tatsumi on the yacht. They both had a few hours before the Ship would be launching, and they had been instructed to try and gain information regarding Wild Hunt, Esdese, or the imposters if at all possible, so Tatsumi took the excuse to wander the Capital for a while and pay his respects in the area Mine died.

He walked calmly through the streets of the capital, it was even quieter than it normally would be. He noticed imperial guards at every turn. Clearly, security had increased after what happened. Tatsumi asked around to learn more of what was being said. The official story was that the night raid Member, Mine, had used her teigu to try and commit a terrorist act to take out a civilian block. But most people were gossiping about Wild Hunt, it would appear many people blamed them for the damage rather than Mine. Apparently, Wild Hunt had already developed a reputation as scum. Tatsumi gleaned information about enmity between the imperial guard and Wild Hunt. From what he could tell a member of Wild Hunt had severely injured and tormented the imperial guards "Princess of justice" as they had put it.

Tatsumi decided to put this knowledge to use and began to talk with imperial guards around the capital as he made his way through slowly on a path towards his mission. He still had a few hours until the boat would launch. He found that his state of dress benefited him. It would appear that belonging to the upper echelon of society placed you as being within Prime Minister's ring. Due to this stigma, Tatsumi had built up a few confidantes through the Imperial guard, It would seem preying on their hatred of Wild hunt was a rather effective way to build up a rapport with the near disregarded police force. He was mildly intrigued by this woman they held such high regard for.

Apparently, the girl who had been injured by wild hunt had managed to be compatible with a powerful bio-teigu. Their princess had brought a lot more respect for the Imperial guard amongst the elitist mindsets of the capital. And it was apparent her father was a war Hero who had worked and died for The late General Tatsumi. Under his breath, he muttered, "That name again..." But also asked them about it. "General Tatsumi? I thought he was a Colonel?" As Tatsumi asked one of the guards he had been walking through the streets with a Brunette girl came running at them. Something was flailing behind her, It was pinballed around so quickly Tatsumi couldn't quite make out what it was. But he did note the Brunette's arms and were a sleek blackened metal. It was hard to tell given that she had gloved sleeves on her arms and bandages around her legs. But, her uniform had been disheveled by her running giving a slight view of the cybernetics underneath.

Tatsumi figured she was self-conscious of the replacements so he made eye contact with her and pulled on his sleeve slightly. A look of realization crossed her face before she smoothed over her uniform. Tatsumi took a moment to wonder what moron designed the female uniforms. Functionality is a thing you know. Maybe don't design uniforms for the purpose of highlighting specific aspects. And then he was brought out of his thoughts. "I Heard you were Talking of Onee-chan!" "Yes miss Seryu, this gentleman was just asking about his Title." She tilted her head to the side while bouncing on her toes. "Huh?" Tatsumi informed her of the guards meaning, taking note that she called the General, Onee-chan. He also smelt something familiar. Blood sweat and Lilacs...was she the woman from the other day? "He was referred to as General Tatsumi, I had thought he was a Colonel." "Oh yes! He had been on a promotion test with lady Esdese. At the time Onee-chan discovered that the Mortiferous squad had committed treason against the empire by slaughtering an innocent tribe of nomads. He went missing after he tore them apart though… But! In honour of his capabilities and everything he had done as an imperial soldier Onee-chan was promoted to General."

Tatsumi felt a slight tugging at his pant leg. He looked down and saw what he could only guess was supposed to represent a dog. He crouched down till he was closer to the curious entity. They both shared a blank stare for a minute. "Oh, that's Koro, my Teigu, and partner in Justice! Isn't he just adorable." Tatsumi held out an arm. The teigu hopped onto it, and he brought Koro level with everyone. They were still staring at each other "aro?" Tatsumi shrugged "I don't believe so, no." The imperial guards deadpanned, clearly calling bullshit on some random dude being able to communicate with their princess' teigu "Ro. Ar aro?" "I'm just a bounty hunter, maybe you're just smelling the blood of the danger beasts I hunt down." "Aru!?" Tatsumi sighed, pulling out a jerky ration and handed it to the teigu who began chewing on it happily.

"You can understand Koro?" Seryu asked with stars in her eyes. "In a manner of speaking yes, It's more that I can understand the intent of his aura, and his vocal tone helps indicate his meaning." "He must sense a strong will for Justice in you!" "Oook… .sure… I guess." Seryu hugged Koro away from Tatsumi loving on her little "Justice hunter". Tatsumi took a look at his wristwatch and realized that he really needed to rendezvous with Bulat. It was only about an hour from their assigned mission time. "If you'll excuse me, I have an event to attend to. It was nice meeting you all." The guards said goodbye to Tatsumi, and Seryu waved at him enthusiastically as he left.

He arrived at the rendezvous point where Bulat and Tatsumi were to stow away on the ship till launch. The plan was for Tatsumi to integrate himself into the crowd for a little while and keep an eye out for their charge. Bulat would be scouring the inside and outside of the ship Using Incursio's ability to turn invisible. The hope was that Tatsumi would be able to catch any of the more subtle styles of assassination, such as poison, or other discrete killing methods by tailing the charge at a constant pace for a while. While Bulat would be able to catch the impersonators in case they either revealed themselves or tried to escape. Tatsumi placed several magical defenses around the ballroom before it would begin to fill up with guests. And tracked down the charge when he got a chance to place protective measures on him as well. It was to Tatsumi's benefit as a hunter that he had gained a universal immunity to toxins, he was able to devise a serum that would temporarily immunize anyone from all poisons and venom for about twelve hours. He was still working on creating a more permanent version.

As Tatsumi mingled with the crowd, enjoying some wine and rare meats from high-class chefs, he found himself mind-bogglingly bored as fuck. He already hated politics as it was, and this was a politically driven event. He took note that there was only two viable way into the ballroom and it was unlikely that the charge would be taken out via sniper at this nautical distance from shore. The windows were fixed shut, leaving only the ballroom doors as the entrance for guests, the stage had entrances for chefs and busboys, but he had already tagged every single person on staff. If someone tried to get in without a tag he would know. So he slipped out onto the deck of the boat. He sighed, praying that the rest of the mission went this smoothly. He leaned onto the bow of the deck enjoying the smell of the sea and the wind as it blew over the ship. "Comfortable Tatsumi?" Tatsumi didn't even blink. "Bulat, be glad that I knew you could go invisible, and be glad I knew that's you. It would not be that hard to drown a person on this ship."

Bulat removed his hand from Tatsumi's ass, the point got across very clearly. "Come on Tatsumi you don't have to be like that." "If it keeps you from trying to stick things where you shouldn't then yes. I. Do." Tatsumi noticed a large shift in the water below. He hoped it was just a school of large fish. It would not be nice to deal with an Aquatic danger beast on this ship. He dismissed it for now. Bulat leaned against the railing keeping his back to the sea rather than the boat. "You know Tatsumi, if you wind yourself up too tightly on missions like this you'll appear suspicious yourself, and more importantly, if things do go south you may get sloppy in combat." Tatsumi shot back his reply smoothly, sipping his wine."If you get to relaxed and let your guard down you're liable to get taken down by surprise, don't forget Bro, all it takes is one well-placed knife to the jugular." "You don't have to worry about me Tatsumi, I've no intention of dying anytime soon." "Neither did Mine... " Bluat looked at his companion. "Tell you what Tatsumi between the both of us, I think we could take on anything the empire has to throw at us." Tatsumi gave Bulat a small smirk. "I'll hold you to that Bro."

Bulat sighed beside him "Looks like I need to head in and hide, my time limits up for invisibility." "Stay safe Bro, I have a really bad feeling about this ship." Bulat snuck away. Tatsumi felt a chill run up his spine. He sighed, whatever was causing him to feel sick was about to rear its ugly ass head. Unfortunately for him, it had several of them. A few moments after Bulat had disappeared inside a flute's tune sounded out around the ship. Tatsumi heard bodies hit the ground in the ballroom, None of his alarms had been tripped, so he was sure no one had entered the ballroom. This worried him in several ways since there was obviously intruders. He began to analyze the situation as much as possible. Aside from growing migraine at the antics of some musical moron playing the flute, Tatsumi felt absolutely nothing. He figured that something was keeping him mostly immune to whatever the effects of this flute were. His mind flickered over to Bulat, wondering if the same held true for him as well. But he wouldn't have the time to worry for long.

"Well, what do we have here. I would've spared ya had you stayed inside, but it seems you are able to fight off Nyau's tune." "Excuse me? Tune? I wouldn't call that cacophonous screech music, whoever this bullshit cat is he needs to take some fucking lessons." The strange white eyed behemoth in front of Tatsumi cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow."Have I met you before?" Tatsumi scoffed "Well you aren't dead yet so I presume no." The man just nodded his head appreciatively. "You got some balls on you, y'know that kid." Tatsumi decided to keep playing the cocky bastard. "Don't start sucking them now." The man blinked. Tatsumi wasn't sure if it was actually necessary for the man to do this. Tatsumi wasn't even sure what the fuck was up with his eyes. "...I like you kid, shame I'm gonna have to kill you, can't leave witnesses and all that." Tatsumi just rolled his shoulders and produced his sword, his opponent had absolutely no idea where he got it from. He just figured it would be better not to ask. "Bring it, Bitch."

* * *

_Bulat_

"...Impossible...General River?" "It's Been a long Time Bulat, but I'm afraid I'm no longer a General, I serve under Lady Esdese now." Bulat's eyes went dark, the disbelief in a man he had held such respect for now gone. "So you just gave up? Bowed to the empire like a dog! What happened to you River! We were going to fix the Empire!" The argent Haired soldier Smiled sadly at his one-time companion and friend "We don't have the power to fix the empire Bulat, What can men like you or me do? Honest's grip on the empire is almost absolute at this point. But there's someone he relies on, someone who can fix this empire!" "Don't tell me you think Esdese would ever give a damn about fixing the empire! That woman is just a blood-lusting Demon!" "You're wrong Bulat! That woman is stronger than us all. She's a little impetuous and hot-blooded, But she's still young she hasn't matured yet! Once she's figured herself out more, once she's grown up she can lead the world! She can make the world stronger!"

Bulat and river Argued back and forth, both desperately trying to save the other. The Juxtaposition between their positions demonstrated a misfortunate parallel of what seems to be black and white. River truly believed that The empire couldn't be saved by anyone except for Esdese, having lost faith in humanity and the strength of the few who had good hearts. And Bulat truly believed The few with good hearts had the strength to save it. In a strange twist of Irony both of their minds wandered to Tatsumi. River considered the young man he had known as a Colonel. That event had been the final nail in the coffin for River. He had at a time believed that Tatsumi was the proof that he could succeed in fixing the Empire. The LAte General now only stood as a reminder that everyone who stood against him got removed by Honest eventually. The only person who had the power to stand Against Honest was Esdese, Even Great General Budou couldn't do anything to the prime minister.

Bulat Considered his Companion on the other side of the Boat. Tatsumi held immense potential and had already proven that he could fight and kill teigu users on his own natural Talent. Bulat was still worried for his companion though. The three beasts served directly under Esdese as her Apprentices, they weren't ordinary run of the mill teigu users. Without a teigu, even Tatsumi had to have his limits. He had forgotten about an ability Tatsumi rarely ever demonstrates. Regardless of His magical Capabilities, it would turn out that Tatsumi could handle himself just fine. It wouldn't be the three beasts that would test Tatsumi today.

Off to the side Nyau, River's companion against bulat kept playing his flute. His intent was to wear down on Bulat's strength of will, either River would turn him, or he would be too weak to fight back effectively. But Nyau was finding himself increasingly weak himself. Someone else on the ship had the ability to affect his teigu, He couldn't place where this killer intent was coming from or how it was able to have such an impact on him. Really it almost felt like the will was pissed off at him for playing the flute at all rather than its effects. Nyau's playing faltered, The sense of will took a dark undertone, or something else was there, he wasn't sure but something in the killing intent focused on him felt even worse than the pure malice that his master lady Esdese was capable of.

"She'll kill us all! Esdese doesn't care about anyone except herself!" Bulat Readied himself to fight. Tatsumi having effectively negated the effects of Scream, Nyau's teigu, left Bulat at one hundred percent capacity. "You are wrong old friend, Join us! I can show you the truth! Serve lady Esdese, Bulat, She can pardon you for your crimes! You won't have to bow to the empire, All you will have to do is serve her!" "To Hell with you River, you aren't the man I once knew and respected."

* * *

 **_Tatsumi_**

At the same time on the opposite end of the boat. The two of them couldn't possibly realize this, but they were paralleling the very same fight they had done two years ago. They stood some yards across from each other on the deck as they got into their ready stances. And Tatsumi unknowingly readied himself to recreate nearly the exact same thing that he had done in his fight against Daidara. His opponent leaned forward to throw his teigu at Tatsumi. A bang like thunder at point blank rang out. And Tatsumi was just gone. Daidara felt a sharp pain run through his entire body as he was bent in half with Tatsumi's sword buried in his gut. Daidara's final thoughts before Tatsumi would bisect him would be... Go figure, the son of a bitch survived after all. Daidara's Teigu fell to the ground, Tatsumi ignored it for now.

Something felt off. The air pressure had changed in a highly abnormal way, but it wasn't the result of a teigu or magicks Tatsumi flung the blood off of his sword as the body hit the ground, pulsing out his aura to track down everyone else on the boat and figure out where any other assailants might be. He realized that Bulat and two other people were on the other side of the boat. With the only other conscious people located, he attempted to use his aura to figure out what was causing the atmosphere to change so drastically. His aura allowed him to feel something absolutely massive flow underneath the boat in the water. "Please no. Just please no" He peered over the side of the Ship, a large wave of red ran under the water briefly before it disappeared.

Tatsumi kept feeling out for whatever the creature was. It had disappeared as far as he could tell. Tatsumi breathed a sigh of relief hoping that he wouldn't have to worry about whatever was there. He was about to run over and aid his comrade when the boat nearly capsized. A massive gust of wind blew it over, Tatsumi was holding on to the railing as the boat rocked. The boat began to rock back towards balance "Holy fuck, what just happened" The boat corrected itself, but kept rocking…Tatsumi felt another change in air pressure even more drastic than before. Something was echoing over the water, causing increasingly strong waves to slam against the side of the boat.

A pulsing screech slammed into the side of the boat, knocking the few conscious people on the fell down as the boat violently quaked form the impact. "What in the blue-ballad, bitch buttfucking, bastard blasting, banana banging, bourgeoisie bellied, bouncy bunny, brain bombing, ballsack Bullshit is this?" Tatsumi's mind was racing. The water around the boat began to roil, a wretched creaking sound like metal support beams being forcefully bent rang out from the boat. Tatsumi felt the creature slam into the boat only seconds after the concussive impact. Water exploded out around the near capsized yacht, pelting the deck in a deluge. The water concealed the creature for a moment and then revealed the horrid beast. Scales of red writhed around the serpentine body. Screech's screamed out of the various heads of the monster. It had revealed itself to be an eight-headed Hydra. "Of course. Because why not?"

A.N.

It's finally out! Sorry, this chapter came out late. I hope the effort and work i put into it shows, and you can forgive me. []

the song Tatsumi sang was Dream your Dream by TryHardNinja. Give the lyrics a look, pretty fitting for the story if i say so myself/

Please check out the discord link. Fun place filled with assholes and great writers.

 **[discord** **.gg/7vvA3Ce]**

Cannot wait to keep writing this story! I'm glad so many people are enjoying it.

Hopefully i'll be seeing you guys on time next week with the next chapter.

Reread and review!

Saiya


	9. Ch 8 That which tears him apart

Legend:

}-P.S-{ = perspective shift

{background actions or circumstances}

[Characters Writing or letters/notes]

: _flashback_ :

author body note/commentary

*sound effect

^marks a phrase that can be translated from a real language^

/story break for a character/teigu/tentai heiki/monster breakdown/

 **BOLD** : demon talking, outside force talking, basically anything not explicitly human talking

 _ITALICS_ : thoughts, expositional description, emphasis on a particular word

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the following original/fanfictional works: most of these will be referenced and inspired the story being written. All the credits for the original work go to the creators of their respective pieces. I hope that my story will be far enough removed from any individual story that it could become a file off the serial number work, but regardless it still pays homage to these great stories.

Undertale

Homestuck

Final Fantasy II

Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy XII

Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy

Prey

+Anima

Akame Ga Kill

Colonel Saber: AGK fanfic

 _ **WARNING THERE IS GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF TORTURE AND GORE IN THIS CHAPTER**_

 _ **ALSO FOR VETERAN READERS: THE ENDING TO CHAPTER VII HAS CHANGED THUS EFFECTING EVENTS IN THIS CHAPTER PLEASE REREAD TATSUMI'S SECTION TO AVOID CONFUSION**_

* * *

-)the next day(-

_Tatsumi_

He Locked himself into his room, using every manner of magical spell now cascading through his head in a flash flood of mnemonic data, he made sure that He was locked in. No thing, and no one could get in. He still felt it, the feeling crawled through his skin, He felt It's presence throughout his mind and body. It called itself Mother. He felt her, as she brought memories of his past back, he felt her in them all. The feeling of flesh still fresh on his mind. Tatsumi was shuddering in his room. He was just staring at his hands, just pushing a little bit of energy into them caused them to change, the skin darkened for an instant and then they grew scales, his nails elongated into talons. His entire body could do this now. And he hadn't been able to fully reverse it. Much of his body still resembled the dragonic form he had taken on. He still resembled the Demon he had become. _**Let it flow through you my little one. You need not be afraid of what you truly are, you're true form is beautiful. You do not have to wear the mask of these pathetic humans.**_ That voice...it had been plaguing him, it called him into the darkness. It called him to succumb into his instincts and submit to his desires. He stretched out the claws he had grown, and he remembered the blood he had soaked them in when he lost the grip to restrain himself.

 _Flashback:_

 _Tatsumi immediately bolted off to start taking down the hydra, as it was there were four heads per side on the yacht, as he ran up the neck of one of the danger beasts. Tatsumi deflected off a stream of fire from one of the heads trying to knock him off the neck he was currently on. When he reached the target head he slammed his blade into one of the lower jaws of the Hydra, he used Gravity to force the hydran head to fall towards the deck, plunging the blade through its skull and killing that head. It was dead in an instant. That was how he almost always took life away. Only a handful of those whom he had ended died slowly or painfully. Tatsumi jolted off of the hydra as they dived towards him. HE took in the scent of the sea, relaxing his thoughts as he absentmindedly fought the danger beast. He picked up the Teigu Daidara was no longer in use of, and flung it at one of the hydra heads, knocking into it with a loud metallic clang. He watched as the Head shook itself from the stupor, and noted the axe embedded itself into the wood of the ships hull._

 _One of eight were dead, which was seven too few for Tatsumi. Tatsumi really wasn't in the mood for this bullshit. But still he found the time to be calm, to still the waters of his mind, and enjoy nature around him. He brought up his hands in front of him and summoned up a magic circle below him. Lightning crashed into two of the heads around him repeatedly, they shuddered as the electricity fried them from the inside out. Only one of the heads was left on his end of the boat, the other four occupying Bulat, River and Nyau. the five hydra heads Left began to break the ship apart, They crashed into the side of the ship knocking the fours soldiers off their balance, sending them into the water._

 _Tatsumi fell into the water first without his sword to pin him onto the capsizing coffin. "Shit!" He twisted in the air to dodge the hail of the splintering ship. A large piece of the deck was all that was left floating, The civilians that had been asleep were screaming in fear. Many were being melted alive as two of the heads spat out streams of acid into the water, the few who did not melt or drown were hanging onto the remaining portion of the sinking wreckage. Tatsumi was barely keeping himself afloat amidst the falling rubble._

The fourth head Tatsumi had been combatting was focused on the young man, it dived down onto him forcing him deep into the water with the intent to drown him, Tatsumi grabbed around for anything trying to beat off the Hydra, the acid in the water was burning into his skin, He had to place various spells on himself to defend from the tainted water. He felt something vaguely metal fall into him as he thrashed in the water, It was melting into his skin causing him to scream out, It tore away at his flesh and began to set in as he plunged further into the water.

 _ **Do not worry my little one, Mother is here.**_ _The fourth head just looked on at Tatsumi in horror, His killing intent turned the water black, it could only barely make out his thrashing form as something changed._

 _Tatsumi was clawing at his throat, a searing pain was ripping across him, he thought he was drowning. And then he breathed in instinctually, and he realised he now had gills._ _ **Breath in my sweet little Tatsumi.**_ _He looked down at where his body had erupted in pain. He was in shock, breathing in through his gills rapidly. Whatever melting piece of metal seemed to have been absorbed into him, there was only a pale pearl white scar tearing across a great deal of his torso from the hip to his shoulder. Everything was going red, He felt what little grip he had restraining himself slipping as the pain throbbed throughout his mind._ _ **Rest little one. Mother will take care of you while you sleep. **_Tatsumi no longer had control.

Tatsumi wasn't truly asleep, He could feel her inside him, something else was there, it was thrashing around his head, he vaguely held the capacity to realise he wasn't the only prisoner in his body right now. Somehow he felt like he was being held in an embrace.

 _ **Do not worry my little one, your friend will live, provided he has survived thus far.**_ _The Hydra head watched the now small demon in horror. It slunk back out the water hoping to avoid the terrifying creature altogether. The entity controlling Tatsumi noticed this though._ " _ **Now where do you think you're going snake?"**_ _The Mutated Tatsumi swam over to the hydra head rapidly Biting into the hydra's neck as it began to plunge It's claws into the scales and worked Its way up the writhing serpents body. The Hydra head flailed around trying to shake off Tatsumi as It tore It's way up the neck through the water. When Tatsumi reached the head It Bit down into the throat tearing out a chunk of the hydra that now began to bleed out in the water. And then It began to swim up the the last remaining piece of the ship, It didn't care about the civilians, but the Entity controlling it knew Tatsumi Cared about the one called Bulat. Him It would try to save._ _ **Do not worry my little one.**_

 _End flashback:_

There was a soft knocking at the door, bringing him out of His musings. He felt most of the women of Night raid Outside of his door, He could Feel Najenda, Susanoo, and Bulat In the meeting room, he knew they were discussing what happened to him. He felt Lubbock working in the night raid Lab, He was trying to figure out what happened to Tatsumi. Tatsumi heard Akame Speak up on the other side of his door. "Tatsumi, you need to come out. We're worried for you." "..." Schere spoke up next "Are you there Tatsumi? We haven't seen you since you and Bulat got back." Tatsumi curled up further into a ball. He didn't want them to see what he had become. He looked over to the mirror, two luminescent, gold, cross slitted eyes gleamed back at him, He realised they were gold because his green and Tyrants red had bled together. Leone and Chelsea popped in simultaneously "Come on Tat~su~mi, don't tell us you're afraid of some girls." The door Creaked Open, it was pitch black inside the room and they couldn't really see him. Fire glowed in tatsumi's clawed hand for a moment and flew out, lighting a few of the torches. They could only barely make out the back of Tatsumi's form, he was much Taller, and his hair had grown longer and turned a beautiful sheen of argent silver, it was flaring out wildly and untamed.

" **You are the ones who should be afraid..."** His voice came out softly, but rang out in a deep Bass. His Jacket was barely covering his new physique. The women Hesitated to move toward their walked further into the room and crouched into a corner pulling his knees to his bandaged chest. He kept his eyes closed. Schere walked into the room, she sat down beside him and leaned into his body, remembering how calm she had made him before. He let out a low growl, but relaxed, letting schere sink into him a little more. She rested her head on his shoulder. "You don't need to be worried Tatsumi we aren't afraid." He breathed out slowly. He felt Leone press herself into him. He opened an eye in a light glare at the playful woman, the slits narrowed at the view of the feline woman. "Leone What the hell do you think you're doing." She grinned deviously. "Surprised Tat~su~mi? What exactly do you expect, I did mark you as my mate. Do you think my instinct won't be to take advantage of the situation Tat~su~mi?" " **E...Excuse me?"**

And then Chelsea stepped in because she had no intention of losing out to Leone. She pressed herself against The unoccupied arm of Tatsumi. _What in the nine rings of unholy fuck are these women doing?_ Tatsumi locked his arms, recognising the position Chelsea was in. " **Please stop"** She leaned into his ear, whether she realised how much more sensitive each of his senses were he didn't know, but she capitalise on it. "You know Tatsumi most men would kill to be in your position right now" She whispered into his ear while She, Leone, and an oblivious Schere pressed themselves further into him.

She pushed aside his coat and loosened the bandages on his torso. Leone and CHelsea took note of a cross he was wearing around his neck, not having took him for a religious man. He couldn't do anything to stop Chelsea from her actions as the three woman had him rather occupied. He was still trying to work out an escape route, except he couldn't tense up like he wanted to because of Schere. " **You mean being teased by two vixen's, with a third unknowingly perpetuating the effort, while a fourth buxom predator watches in indecision?** " In the back of his head, the voice which he had been repressing was able to jab in a little. _**These women clearly want you my sweet little tatsumi, why not take them? Dominate them and make them your mates.**_ The idea of dominating them repulsed Tatsumi. And he took note of a scent he recognised in the vein of fear. He realised Chelsea was uncomfortable.

The aforementioned Buxom Predator was still in the doorway she was blushing, She felt Jealous of Leone and Chelsea, though she still couldn't place why this felt so strong in her. Akame walked forward to the uncomfortable Tatsumi He was desperately trying to extricate himself from the three women. Akame pulled herself in next to Schere snugglin herself into Tatsumi's Torso in front of a slightly disgruntled Leone. Both Leone and Chelsea were fighting over an arm now since Leone knew she wasn't going to move Akame. Schere smiled warmly, Relaxing fully into Tatsumi's body as she began to fall asleep "Warm..." Akame Looked into Tatsumi's Eyes, The glowing golden Hue was quite beautiful to her. "Tatsumi...do you not...like us?" Akame asked peering into the intense gaze of the young man. " **I beg your pardon?"** The four of them Pressed themselves into tatsumi as much as possible. Schere was actually curious to hear his answer. He _was_ rather standoffish.

Chelsea was antagonising Leone by licking Tatsumi's neck. Briefly he wondered why she acted so much like a cat while he shuddered. He was trying to figure out how he would answer Akame. Leone one upped Chelsea by activating Lionelle and nibbling on him, Her tail was teasing Tatsumi, as provocatively as it possibly could. He was having a really hard time concentrating. But Akame's red eyes were still peering back at him quizzically. " **That's...That's not what's going on Akame. I'm not...myself right now. Incurs_...Tyrant...and something else are fighting in my head, I can feel them inside me. Tearing my humanity apart towards their own ends. They're pulling me every which way trying to get me to submit to my instincts. To make me succumb to my bloodlust… You are all beautiful women, incredible women. This has nothing to do with liking you or not. This is about The monster I realize I am. Whatever happened on that boat showed me more of who I was two years ago. My memories...they are filled with death, with me rending people from their lives."**

 _Flashback:_

 _It's claws tore into the scaly flesh of the Hydra, River and Bulats near broken bodies barely clung to life on floating planks near the wreckage. Nyau was nowhere to be seen. Tatsumi could feel them in his head, they screamed back and forth as they guided his instincts. He had no control. He ripped out an area of one of the hydra head's necks, Memories flowed back into his mind. He slashed with his claws, He remembered bisecting soldiers. He slammed a beam of wood into a hydra's skull pinning the gurgling creature to the sunken yacht. Images of bodies impaled on pike's raced through his mind._

 _There were only three Hydra heads left now. With blasts of flame, acid, and boiling hot water, the three remaining heads tried to keep Tatsumi away. He remembered burning people alive, electrocuting them, drowning them, tearing them apart in every manner of physical and magical form. The screaming in his head stopped. There was only one head left now. He was drenched in blood._ _ **D o you see now my little one? You have always had this power, and this doesn't even scratch the surface of what you are capable of my dear. **__Tatsumi realised that the other voice that was now silent was still there,, He could still feel that there were two other aura's in him now. The new one he presumed was apart of whatever teigu had been burned into him._ _ **I'll always be here to guide you my little one. Mother will always take care of you.**_

The Creature Tatsumi had become was panting, Bulat tried to force himself to get up, no matter what had happened to the young man Tatsumi was still his comrade and friend. Tatsumi tried to fight for control while he had the chance, but he didn't have enough energy, the adrenaline running through his body sent his bloodlust into overdrive. Tatsumi lept towards the neck of the last remaining hydra head prepared to end it. The cornered beast was panicking, it thrashed at slammed Tatsumi back down.

 _ **Relish in the feeling my dear, This is who you are. You stand above the rest. The Alpha.**_ _Tatsumi felt the presences of the Danger beast and Mother as they burrowed through his very being, adapting to his body and modifying his genetics. Tatsumi crashed into the wood below. It was no longer even recognisable as a human. it's skin had taken on a scaly texture to it, its hair flared out longer in an argent hue. It screamed out at the Hydra. He resembled a small dragon. The voice inside Tatsumi kept cooing out to him, it was almost soothing to him as it led his body along in a vicious torrent of animalistic instinct._ _ **This is the power you have within you. You can use it. You can cleanse this world, and once you have purged this world of it's filth only those precious few innocent, and the ones you love will be left.**_

 _The demonic voice overtook the danger beast's body entirely through the flesh that was once its once prison, the teigu that had housed, and used the danger beasts ability to adapt to give itself a more definite form in Tatsumi's mind. The now draconic young man Growled out ferally as his human mind gave way to his instincts. He now had four Luminescent golden eyes with cross-slitted pupils. He roared at the last of the Hydra, Dashing rapidly forward. Spiraling up the neck and cutting it out in ribbons without disconnecting the head. The two floating soldiers stared in horrified awe of the Monster the young man had become. His body had mangled it's way up the blood gushing nape of the doomed danger beast. Perched upon the skull of the Hydra, the poor creature screamed out as it dug its claws through the bone, crushing the skull and killing the beast entirely. Tatsumi enjoyed this feeling._

 _End flashback:_

Tatsumi was pulled back from his harrowing memories of the past twenty-four hours. He felt the two presences in the back of his mind. The one he had learned was Tyrant barely even flared itself before returning to "slumber". And the one that called itself Mother only said the same as it always had, telling him to give into his instincts. Tatsumi believed whatever that entity was it only ever considered the pleasure of lust, be it the traditional form, or Bloodlust. His mind finally registered what was going on around him, He felt something soft pressed up against his lips, and he heard Leone and Chelsea whining. Schere was still oblivious from what he could tell. His mind went entirely blank when he finally figured out what was pressed against his lips. In his mind what could be considered the alarm clock from hell began to play, ringing around his head as reality and logical processing refused to connect properly. She pulled away from the kiss slightly, he could only barely see the blushly lightly dusting he cheeks, her beautiful rose red eyes wouldn't meet his. If she had she would have noticed his eyes had returned to their normal, if still luminescent, jade color.

" **Why are you all doing this...Why do you care…?"** Akame brought herself to stare into his eyes. "You aren't a monster Tatsumi. Just look at us, We're assassins. All of our hands are stained in blood." Leone, who was really pushing Tatsumi's level of restraint, would chip in next. "We all have ways of dealing with our realities, Like me and Bulat Drinking." "Her voice went husky and her eyes narrowed. " _Though, if I'm being honest, I'd really like to take up another form of relief._ " Tatsumi's eyes twitched, the pheromones was starting to hit him and he was fighting to keep his head from swimming. _I have to be dreaming, there isn't a snowball's chance in hell this is really happening._

" **I don't think the method you're suggesting would really help me"** Chelsea would by the next in this round robin wheel of sensual suffering. "It's always worth a shot, besides any day could be our last, it would be a shame to not have experienced it at least once before we die." Chelsea's answer to Leone teasing Tatsumi with her tail, was basically to strip, most of her clothes hang loosely on her shoulders and Hips. Tatsumi was glad to have Akame's crimson eyes peering back at him, because they were beautiful enough to keep him captivated. The feeling of Chelsea's flesh was enough to inform him that the vixen was prepared to pounce, and he wanted to try and not provoke any of the predators currently entangling him. "I would love to have that itch satisfied." Tatsumi's mind fritzed out again registering what the soft spoken melody of Schere's voice had just sang out. Chelsea, leone and Akame looked at the violenette in confusion, and then noticed that most of her clothing had been loosened and had nearly fallen off her lithe frame. She responded to the questioning looks by leaning into Tatsumi, pushing his arm further into her cleavage. _**J ust let go little one. You'll feel better for it.**_

 _Flashback:_

 _Falling onto the the deck in all fours Panting. Tatsumi finally came back to his senses, he was disoriented and confused, but he was the one in control. He smelt the blood of a bystander who had no part in this fight. He searched around the wreckage until he saw Nyau, skinning the face off of some poor young woman._ _ **Cleanse him my little one. Purify this filth from the land.**_ _Tatsumi couldn't fight against the voice now. He didn't Want to. He wanted Nyau to feel pain, He wanted to see him suffer. He approached Nyau, growling in a throaty screech of the damned._ " _ **You dare to torment and spill the blood of the innocent."**_ _Nyau foolishly wasn't afraid of the Monster Tatsumi currently resembled. "What's it to you beast?" Tatsumi grabbed Nyau by the neck and slammed him down onto the wood of the shattered deck. Nyau felt calm for a moment, until he saw Tatsumi shatter his Teigu , snapping it in twain like a twig._ " _ **Listen here you little shit. Cretin's like you are why this world is plunged into damnation."**_ _Nyau squirmed under Tatsumi's grip, the fear of death finally setting into hellion._

 _Tatsumi took several special numbing needles. These used the venom from a special S class arachnid type danger beast, a jorogumo. Their paralytic venom would ensure Nyau would stay alive. Tatsumi stabbed one into Nyau's jugular to make sure he couldn't escape. And then he began to jab them into Nyau, one by one, in various arteries. As the poison set in, locking up Nyau's body and numbing his sense of feeling Tatsumi took some of the same needles he used on Ogre and repeated the process. The interaction between the numbing and sensory overloading poisons would allow Nyau to feel absolutely everything in extreme detail, without feeling pain._

 _Tatsumi's claws elongated into thin razor-sharp blades. Tatsumi began to skin the boy, sinking his claws just under the skin of Nyau's neck. Bulat and River watched in absolute horror as Tatsumi stripped Nyau of his skin, slowly removing the membrane from every inch of his body, revealing the muscle layer. Nyau couldn't even scream since the poison kept him paralyzed. Nyau could feel Tatsumi's claws as the slid under his skin separating skin from muscle with surgical precision, leaving absolutely no blood spilt. Once every inch of skin was removed from Nyau Tatsumi grabbed him buy his now skinless balls and dragged him over to the Hydra head he pinned to the ship, it's jaw almost overflowing with undiluted Acid. Tatsumi threw Nyau into the pool. He sat quietly as Nyau writhed and screamed in pain, dying slowly as every nerve in his body was lit on fire by the acid until it turned red with his blood and nothing was left of the sadist. Tatsumi enjoyed every moment of the freaks torment._

 _Realization finally hit Tatsumi. He felt sick as he registered what he had just done, of his own free will. He wanted to do it, nothing pushed him to do so, and he had enjoyed it. He staggered, Looking down at his mutated body. He could somewhat make out his reflection in the disturbed waters around the wreck. He didn't want to see what he had become. He was a monster. He was just like his victim. His memories proved to him that he was an abomination. He looked over in horror at his companion. His four demonically changed eyes making contact with Bulat. Bulat would try to call out to Tatsumi as he dived away, but it would never reach Tatsumi. He had to get as far away from here as possible. He couldn't be near anyone._

 _End flashback:_

Tatsumi's eyes were overshadowed by his hair. He wondered if they were right. Maybe by giving into the voice and his instincts in this way he could sate the desire. He wouldn't force himself on any of them. And they were all telling him too. He could smell desire on the four women around him. If he gave in, hust in this way, he could control it, by releasing the desire and frustrations he would be able to handle the rest...right? " **Are you sure?..."** Akame reached up to push his hair away from his eyes, she could see his fear and hesitation in them. "I want this Tatsumi, especially if it helps you feel better." Tatsumi's pupils narrowed slightly, taking on an almost diamond shape to them. He shifted forward pulling Chelse, Leone and, Schere to the ground. He caught them all and then gently set the four of them on the bed. He straddled Akame, Pushing her down so that He was hunched over her, He was breathing lightly into her ear. " **Are you truly sure of this Akame?"** Akame was breathing heavily, her chest heaving into Tatsumi's near draconic form."Yes." Chelsea nudged Tatsumi in the side. "Don't forget us now Tatsumi." Tatsumi turned towards her, leaning away from a now whimpering Akame.

His luminous eyes off put her slightly, she felt like prey under his gaze. " **You do not need to force yourself Chelsea. I can smell your fear and hesitation.** " He pushed her down gently as well, he nuzzled into her neck, following his instincts. " **You do not have to give your heart or body to me if you do not desire it. It is ok to guard yourself. It is ok to be selfish in this way Chelsea."** "A...and if i truly am willing to give myself to you?" " **I do not care if you are willing. I care if you want to. You are not a possession. You are not some tool to keep me in line."** "I...I want to..." Tatsumi fixed his piercing gaze to her. He found her quite alluring as she was. But he would not force himself on to her. " **Do you really want this Chelsea?"** "I want to!" Tatsumi leaned down into her. He nuzzled into her neck again, He kissed her gently on the neck, she gasped from the sensation.

Leone felt left out and tried to pounce on to the seeming preoccupied young man. She found herself pinned to the wall. " **And what of you, is this Leone's Desire, or is it Lionelle's?"** more and more Tatsumi found his ability to restrain himself dwindling. "What is that supposed to mean? " Tatsumi pinned her arms to the side, staring into her eyes. Using his elbows to keep her still, her slid his hands under the leather band covering her breasts. Leone blushed and moaned from his ministrations. " **I said. Is this your desire or Lionelle's? I can smell the bond between you two as well. And it is not lost on me that you are finding yourself more and more comfortable with Lionelle active rather than as you naturally are."** "I...I don't know...I like you...I know I do...I feel like i really want this." Both Chelsea and Akame felt jealous towards Leone since she was getting some more physical attention from Tatsumi. " **Is it Lionelle's instincts or your own desire?"**

Schere just wanted him to give her some attention as well, the other's hadn't noticed her as she was having fun with herself watching as Tatsumi let go. Tatsumi Held her gaze as she blushed. He pulled away. And then found himself being straddled by Leone. He realized she was near feral. But he no longer cared. So long as she desired this he would be fine. Leone kissed him Passionately. He flipped her over, pinning her down once again. What little restraint was left had disappeared looking down at the woman clearly in heat below him. " **As long as all of you consent and desire this, then I am willing. But I will not force myself on any of you."** He felt a wet hand rest itself on his shoulder. He turned towards Schere who had lost all of her clothes. His mind momentarily went absolutely blank taking in her near perfect form. "could you please give me some attention to? I feel left out..." Her eyes were tilted slightly downward, an arm pushing up her breasts while gripping the other elbow. The four women realized Tatsumi Was blushing profusely. It occurred to them that even with new more feral instincts he was still the Tatsumi they knew and loved. And of course they would make full use of this as they tormented him for the rest of the day in a carnal consummation of concupiscent cataclysm.

* * *

_Bulat_

Meanwhile in the Night Raid meeting room, Bulat was reporting to Najenda everything he could remember happening on the mission. They were both Worried about Tatsumi's hyper developed bond with Incursio, and what effects it could have on the young man. To Najenda it was quite possible that they either had lost two of their greatest fighters. Until Bulat could be paired with another teigu. Or had possible just gained a trump card for the revolution through Tatsumi. Bulat, personally, could give less of a considerable fuck about the Revolution,or having a Teigu. He was more concerned with the possibility of Tatsumi being driven insane by Tyrant. Bulat had also taken note of Tatsumi muttering something about "mother" as they carried eachother home. Unfortunately he made the mistake of assuming that's what tyrant was telling Tatsumi it was, thus he left that detail out finding it unimportant.

"Lubbock's tests indicate that Tatsumi is undergoing symptoms of teigu rejection, We have to get it out of him!" Bulat was furious at Najenda who seemed to completely disregard the danger to their comrade. "The tests are also showing an unprecedented level of bonding between Tatsumi and Incursio, they are combined at a genetic level at this point. Attempting to remove Incursio could critically impair, if not kill, Tatsumi. We can't risk it." Susanoo watched from the corner of the room, remaining almost absolutely still and silent. Susanoo was actually using his abilities to keep an eye on Tatsumi, He was studying the Killing Intent of his comrade. It was abnormal in every regard.

Bulat Couldn't believe Najenda, was having Tatsumi as a weapon so much more important than the young man's life. "Look Bulat, each of us chose this life. At any moment we could die, Tatsumi is no different. We are all aware of the danger and we all give everything towards our cause. There isn't anything we can do for him. But we can help him learn to control this, and hopefully, try to stabilize him in the process." "Stabilize! He was just forcefully connected to the still living flesh of Tyrant! When we dragged eachother home he kept muttering about a voice in his head. Tyrant won't let him become stable, Tyrant intends to overtake him!" Susanoo spoke at this point. "I think There may be something else to worry about regarding Tatsumi's stability. His KI has three distinct signatures to it. Tyrant's signature is in a dormant state and is resonating rather well with Tatsumi's. The third signature, however, Is more powerful than both of the others combined, and is connected to him remotely, it has an almost perfect resonation with the young man, as such only it's nature really seperates it out from his."

Najenda was very curious about this information "What do you mean Susanoo?" "I believe Tyrant is working more to Tatsumi's benefit than to his harm. If i had to guess it is quite possible that Tatsumi himself is incompatible with incursio, and this third signature is what had bonded to it. Tyrant may have been beaten out and overtaken leaving his only option to survive was to bond with his new host on a spiritual level. If this is true Tyrant may be more inclined to teach tatsumi how to use his new abilities and become the next Tyrant. Which leaves me to wonder about the intent of this third signature." Bulat had leaned against a pillar, taking in the new information. "That doesn't explain what we learned about the genetic inconsistencies after his transformation. There were clearly only two genetic mappings that were fighting against each other." "We will have to wait for Lubbock to further understand that Bulat, as it stands there is really nothing else we can do." Bulat thought back to the mission. Trying to pick out any detail he could.

 _Flashback:_

 _Bulat prepared to strike at his former friend, He gripped Neuntote as he shifted forward. And then hit the deck when something slammed into the side of the boat. Bulat was worried about River's Teigu now that Water was raining onto the deck. Fortunately for him RIver and Nyau would be too preoccupied with the Hydra that had entangled the yacht. But so would Bulat. He and river shared a brief look, coming to terms that they would have to work together for the time being. Both of them expected that whoever had the most energy would be the one to kill the other when this was all done. Water steamed around the deck, RIver made a small hydra of his own to combat two of the Heads while Bulat beat one of the acid spitting heads off using neuntote._

Nyau was bouncing around trying to get some chance to use Scream. It was rather difficult for him as fire, acid, and torrents of river's water blitzed around the deck. River was having trouble dealing with the fire spitter especially. But to the benefit of the three soldiers the steam created enough of a cloud cover that Nyau could use his Trump Card, as much as he hated it, it was the only way for him to really enter into this fight. With Nyau now resembling a roid raging maniac, and Scream stretched out into a modified quarterstaff. All four heads were completely occupied now. WIth Nyau and River able to fully occupy three together And Bulat able to beat down and kill the fourth.

 _It would be to their detriment that they had made the mistake of cutting off two of the hydra heads so what was once three had become five. The heads slammed down into the boat tearing it apart while burning it down with fire, acid, and boiling water. River and bulat were fighting back to back fending off the fire and acid spitters. Nyau had climbed up one and was currently trying to beat it down using scream. Bulat was able to split one of the heads don the middle with three of them were panting in exhaustion. River was bleeding from one ear, He no longer had the strength to use his Teigu, Bulat wasn't able to activate incursio but was still using it's key to beat back the Hydra. Only Nyau was really able to keep up the heavy end of the fight. And then the ship caved in. they fell into the water. Bulat lost his grip on Incursio key as he plunged into the water._

 _This is where everything went wrong. Bulat swam up to the surface, He and river clung to planks of wood to keep afloat. The four surviving Hydra heads Bulat could see thrashed around they were searching the water. Bulat realized there was a cloud of red billowing around underneath the rippling water. A flash of silver dashed through the water before exploding out. He barely even registered the creature as it mutilated one of the four heads in a flurry of rapid clawing strikes. That head screeched out from the pain. Bulat watched the silver-maned tear out it's throat, biting into it and ripping it out with a sickening wet tearing noise.. He slashed through the gurgling creature. Leaving only the three surviving hydra heads._

The creature was horrifying. It's skin was oscillating rapidly. Bulat realised that it was changing from human skin into the same scale like texture of Incurio. The killing intent the creature exhumed was the very same as Tatsumi's. "I...Impossible, a bond like that couldn't have been formed so quickly!" Bulat watched what he assumed to be his friend as he tore through the hydra easily. The creature convulsed in short bursts as something else became more defined in it's shifting form. It occurred to Bulat that the acid and fire streams torrented at the creature weren't affecting it. The hide that Tatsumi was developing proved to be immune to extreme acidity, as well as too extreme heat. Both abilities Bulat did not experience to such an intense degree as the wielder of Incursio.. "It's adapting?!"

 _End flashback:_

Bulat was scowling at Najenda when lubbock walked in. At the very least Lubbock was knowledgeable enough about these things that he may be able to give the team some indication of what was going on with Tatsumi. More importantly if the bond to incursio was killing Tatsumi. "Miss Najenda, i have some...interesting ness regarding Tatsumi." "What is it Lubbock?" Lubbock sighed, gathering his thoughts. "Tatsumi appears to be less than even one fifth human genetically. When I looked over the interactions between the Tyrant DNA and Tatsumi's I began to recognise a plethora of aberrations regard the entirety of the situation. For one. Tatsumi's DNA isn't being altered by Incursio, Incursio is being assimilated and adapted into Tatsumi existing genetic map. I can't really say for sure since we have such limited resources here at the base, but I can definitively say that Tatsumi was already beyond normal human physiology. From what I could see Tatsumi's blood cells are morphing themselves to recreate the same structures found within what was Incursio, and slowly pulling away identical cells from the teigu until all of the Genetic material has been annexed onto Tatsumi's existing cell structures. In short he is mimicking the abilities of Incursio, evolving them into himself, and shape shifting back to his original form."

Bulat was brought out of his stupor, He was admittedly curious about the implications of such information. "Are you saying Tatsumi was already bonded to another Teigu?" "Not in the slightest. I'm saying Tatsumi was never human to begin with. As i said, he holds less than a fifth of the same genetic cell structures as us humans. Just enough to take the same physical form as us. Clearly it doesn't affect his soul at the very least, as he is rather...emotionally...inclined. And we may be finding out if his genetic differences are compatible with humans." Najenda looked sideways at lubbock in ire. "Excuse me" "Don't look at me, it's not my fault he's having fun right now." Bulat felt a twinge of jealousy, strange given the situation "Who got him first?" "All of them." "I beg your pardon?" "Mine, Chelsea, Schere and Akame are all with him right now. _Bastard's got fucking lucky._ " Lubbock muttered the last bit under his breath.

"Let's not get off topic. Lubbock you said that he was shape shifting back to his normal form. Will this mean he can take the form of other people in the same way Gaea foundation allows Chelsea to?" "Possibly. He could, hypothetically, evolve himself to hold the abilities of all of our Teigu. However, i do not know how we would trigger such an evolution. My research indicated this ability was always present. He may not even know about the ability himself. And it only revealed itself from what i can tell after his forced bonding to Incursio." "But what about the effects of his teigu rejection, you make this sound like Tatsumi has just become a better weapon." "Bulat, calm down, Tatsumi's going to be fine, physically at least. If i had to take a guess the symptoms of teigu rejection that he is experiencing are all psychological. He is undergoing a massive influx of information in some way or another." "CALM DOWN!? You didn't have to carry him back, you didn't have to see the pain he went through, you weren't there to see how haunted he had become. None of you even care about the Man! He has done far more for us than any of us have given him credit for. And you all are treating him like a weapon to be used until it breaks! I will not Fucking calm down. Not while my friend and Comrade Is being torn apart!"

 _Flashback:_

 _Bulat couldn't believe his eyes, watching the brutality of Nyau's execution. This couldn't Be Tatsumi. He felt himself Gag as it peeled away what was once Nyau skin, leaving a cleanly revealed layer of red muscle. This level of sadism beat out even the rumours of Esdese. He briefly looked over to a catatonic RIver, he could see fear and recognition in the man's eyes. Bulat heard screaming. He saw the creature staring into one of the deceased Hydra heads and realised that Nyau was currently Drowning In acid. It was just standing there staring at the demise of its victim. When the screaming finally stopped the creature went rigid. It looked down at its hands, and looked over to the water. It shook its head as if confused. It looked over searching for something. And then Bulat met its eyes, They resembled a golden form of the eyes of Tyrant. But this isn't what scared Bulat. He could see the humanity behind those eyes, he saw terror in them. The creature backed away. Bulat tried to call out to it. It lept into the water disappearing in a blur of silver underneath the rippling water._

 _Bulat and River used what strength they had left to pad over to shore. Bulat was relieved to see there were some survivors of the attack. Many people were washed up on shore coughing and sputtering. Bulat placed his back against a tree, resting for a small while to regain his strength. "Bulat, that creature, tell me it isn't a member of Night raid as well?" "What? Afraid of something that dangerous being on the other side?" "I'm afraid for you Bulat. I'm afraid it will get to you before Lady Esdese gets to it. I know that power, I know that killing intent. It destroyed the last person I felt it from." "Bulat scoffed at his former friend." "What would a broken dog like you know anyways." "I know the Empire can't be fixed from,the outside. And the revolution isn't as innocent or noble as it seems. If i'm going to be a puppet either way then I choose to serve as Lady Esdese' puppet. Because I admire her." "She's a monster River, and she's sunk her claws into you. I refuse to bow to someone that horrible." Both of them realized they would get nowhere with the other. Neither having the strength to fight the other anymore, they bade the other farewell and walked on their separate paths. They both regretted that they couldn't save the other._

 _The slog back to the base was king and arduous for the injured man, he had picked up a stick to use as a walking aid. The trees were so peaceful when compared to the chaos on the yacht. Somewhere along his trek he ran into a particularly large tree shading most of a clearing out. Bulat found Tatsumi, REsting against the base of the Tree, his suit was torn but still covering his bulkier frame. The look in Tatsumi's eyes was weary and haunted, the bags under his eyes showing how defined they had become. Bulat reached out to his Comrade, and they leaned against each other. As they walked, supporting the other and keeping themselves aloft on their way back, Bulat studied the various changed to Tatsumi's form. At the very least he had reverted to a more humanoid state. Bulat Carried Tatsumi home to night raid. He understood Tatsumi's mind hadn't been his own. Tatsumi needed his family in Night Raid. Now more than Ever._

 _End flashback:_

A succulent smell wafted through the Meeting room. The occupants realized Tatsumi had been cooking. Two of the three human occupants of the room were highly confused at this considering their comrade had been shut into his room since arrival. The door opened revealing a yawning Tatsumi with a floating table of food following him. There were slots for trays. Lubbock realized he brought his girls breakfast in bed, and began to curse the young man in his head. Then everyone realized he looked normal. Brown hair, green eyes, and the height he had been before. "Tatsumi! How are you back...I mean how are you...you know?" "Turns out i can be too tired to keep the other form. At least i know how to return to normal now though."

Najenda was Studying Tatsumi. His jacket was left open ended, and without any bandages she could see the pale scar created by Incursio's fusion. It appeared to have fully assimilated into the young man, leaving only the silverish white colour of the blade to prove it once existed, where his scar was. Bulat was worried about his young comrade. But he was glad that Tatsumi seemed to have returned to a more normal state at the very least. And to their benefit, the spies in the capital confirmed no one had any idea he was connected to Night raid, so he would still be able to take the easier reconnaissance missions in the capital. Bulat was praying that Najenda wouldn't be so callous as to send him back into the field after that.

The young man in question yawned again, but stretched out as if preparing for something. Akame came skidding by the door. The only thing covering her was one of Tatsumi's Bed sheets. Lubbock perked up immediately hoping to catch some glimpse of her figure. "FOOOOOOOOD!" before AKame could pounce Tatsumi Caught her, he took corner's of the sheets and folded them around into something resembling a yukata. covering the woman's modesty while also using leftover fabric to give his Paramour a cute sharp ended bow. He kissed her cheek. He also flipped a needle through his fingers like some might flip a coin. Pinching it between his forefinger and thumb he shot it out at lubbock without looking. The needle flew through Lubbock's hair, so close he could feel it as it moved though. But it didn't cut anything. It didn't need to. The message was quite clear.

The young woman was blushing while she slowly ate some of the meat he had cooked for her. Tatsumi hugged her to his body while he rested against the pillar. He rested his head on her shoulder while he ate. The four other occupants of the room took note of how normal they looked together. Just like an everyday couple. He yawned once again. And then Tatsumi adopted a more serious look, mimicking his more monstrous form while the shadows under his eyes highlighted the ire in his luminescing eyes. "I do actually have a question for you Najenda..."

* * *

_River_

River was currently struggling to survive his master's punishment for his failure. He was currently forced to use his Teigu to keep a weighted scale aloft. The water he was allotted was nare;y pushing it upward, and took immense amount of concentration to maintain. If he let the scale fall, then the contraption was connected to a rope currently tied around his manhood. Meaning He either kept the scale up or lost what made him a man. While Esdese interrogated him through his report, River had taken note that the bisected, and now dissected, corpse of Daidara, who he had recovered for the purpose of burying, was being fed to Baphomet. Her voice was cold. And frost was forming lightly in the water he had to use to keep the scale aloft. "Continue your Report River."

"My...My lady. We...weren't prepared...to deal with...the outcome… Of an aquatic danger beast...especially...a high ranking one...such as a...hydra." He was panting desperately trying to keep concentrated on the water. His strength was close to giving out. "More weight." A cleanly cut man, Esdese's butler, picked up another stone slab for the scale. The man had a long braided ponytail and in many ways resembles an elder, more illustriously bearded River. "Please...My lady..." "Edgar, Hold. Speak." "There was...Something...Else there, you would...Be interested in..." He was panting. Struggling under the pressure. Edese waited for him to continue. "A creature...with General...Tatsumi's...Killing intent...Tore through...The...The Hydra...And executed Nyau...skinned him alive….and threw him into a...pool of...the hydra's...acid." Esdese' eyes went dark, they no longer held a pupil. "It seemed...to have...evolved...from the incursio...Teigu...He...He...May have survived." A block of ice formed over River's scale." "And you let him get away?" Screaming was heard throughout the Capital.

* * *

_Esdese_

Esdese had river sent to her medical officers, who, unironically, were the very same personal that took care of her torture chambers. It wouldn't do to let the last of her apprentices die. Though he had certainly just won a certain award for his contribution to evolution by removing himself from the gene pool. It would appear that she had made a wise decision reviewing the Taigu users under Imperial employ and called them in for special reassignment under her. Her Butler. Edgar was currently cleaning up the mess.

Esdese was at her desk enjoying some wine while she though over the information in River's report. If The Rumours Regarding the "phantom of the Dragon" were to be believed then General Tatsumi's workstyle had made appearances within the Capital, However no one had payed eye witness to these events firsthand. If River Was correct she supposed it was possible that the extraordinary young man had somehow created a hyper developed bond with the infamous Teigu. His report revealed a former colleague of his had been present on the Ryuusen. The very same person confirmed to have been using the Teigu Incursio. River's report indicated that the creature was not this "Bulat" and had indeed been some other individual. Whether or not they were in league with Night raid was unconfirmed but the possibility was high considering what was currently Baphomets latest snack. What was unlikely was for the individual to be the late General.

She took another sip of her wine. Reviewing everything she definitively knew regarding the rumours. Once again she found herself surprisingly vexed on the lack of information. Only Tatsumi. He was the sole person to have ever vexed her so much. How could someone so famous have so little known information about him? " **Something on your mind Esdese? You aren't thinking about this desire for love again are you?" "** No, nothing so diverting as that. Rather I am enthralled with these rumours regarding the _late_ General Tatsumi. " **Still Chasing Legends I see, I guess in the end nothing will change the fact he is still the only one to have given you any challenge."** Esdese ran one of her slender fingers along the spot Tatsumi had scratched in their spar. It had only lasted a couple of moments. But Tatsumi still held an unbroken record above all else. He is the only one to have ever drawn blood from her.

She still remembered the feeling, the beautiful sight of that crimson liquid life. Her body shuddered, recalling the rush of combat against her former prey. She remembered her infuriation. He had escaped her. She knew he was alive. The only person to have challenged her wouldn't die so simply. He had escaped her, yes. And she would never forgive him for this offense. If she ever found the missing General she would be sure to break him. She would make him worship the ground where she walked. If Esdese really gave it thought it was the young man who had inspired her desire for love. If not for his ability to challenge her, she wouldn't have developed an obsession for people's potential. Without this obsession she may never have become interested in the potential for a lover, to have someone she could consider Equal in some way.

But she couldn't think on this right now. Leaning back into her companion she considered the actions she would need to take. Over the next few days the Members of her new Task force would be arriving. She would have to make sure to be prepared. It would be necessary to test each of the new recruits and ensure that they were all at least capable of being molded to her needs. Towards her goal regarding the recent rumours some of them may even be able to provide some unique insights regarding their validity.

She reviewed the files on each of her new recruits starting with the ones she would be most familiar with.

[Edgar Lordue (Personal Guard to General Esdese):

Teigu: Masosichitsic dance: bloodletter

Whip type Teigu. Takes the form of normal katar's until activated, in which the hidden emitter between the opening blades unleashes a controlled blade of energy capable of being used like a whip/

Esdese's personal Butler and bodyguard. A man of incredible stamina and a masochist. Esdese often times tested various forms of Torture on the very willing man when she didn't have any prisoners on hand. He was one of Esdese' most trusted subordinates despite having only been under her command for less than a year.]

[River Militiades (The three beasts):

Teigu: fluid dynamics: Black Marlin

Ring type teigu, allows for the control of any fluid the user has touched.

The leader of the three beasts and one of Esdese' apprentices, the second in command of her army (*outdated). A Former General of the imperial empire. A knowledgeable and skilled tactician. He is considered one of the more intelligent soldiers currently employed by the empire.]

Of the ten people on the list, these were the only two Esdese personally new already. She wouldn't pay much mind to them. She already knew of their capabilities inside and out. There was a time she might have given more thought to Lordue. But she had already broken him and now she no longer had to wonder about his loyalties. She would have to look into his former employment at some point though. The idea of a third major party in this endless war was rather outlandish. Esdese focused back on the task at hand.

[Dr. Ambrose "Stylish" Geiotoko (Imperial arms research division.):

Teigu: The Hands of God: Perfector

Assisting type Teigu, increases physical dexterity of the hands thousandfold allowing for extreme precision in the user's muscle movements.

Worked Closely with General Tatsumi in the research of Teigu.

Works Closely with Dr. W. D. Gaithson of the Autha-Gaulir who holds the title of Wolf among their ranks.

Stylish' work alongside Gaithson has lead to the discovery of some lost teigu notably the Monsoon and whirlwind teigu made as elemental matches to Rubicante. Other works include various biological enhancements used for amputee soldiers that have lost limbs. The most recent example of such work is regarding Seryu ubiquitous of the imperial guard who was injured in the crossfire against the recent fight against Mine and Schere of nightraid.]

[Seryu Ubiquitous (Imperial Guard):

Teigu: Hellhound unleashed: Hekatonkheires

Biological type teigu, Nigh indestructible transforming monster.

Late Father was a member of the Autha-Gaulir, Refers to Genreal Tatsumi as "Onee-Chan"

A highly skilled, if reserved, member of the Imperial guard. Regarded by her fellow policemen as the "Princess of Justice". Psychological tests indicate an extremely sadistic side that was apparently cultivated by her "Onee-chan". She is highly knowledgeable in excruciating forms of execution when pressed. However, this is offset with an absolute obsession with Justice. This obsession has ingrained a desire for peaceful resolution before capital punishment.]

[Ran Qim'onkrr (Imperial Special forces):

Teigu: Thousand mile flight: Mastema

Wing type teigu, the user has complete control over every feather in the teigu as well as the ability to fly. Allowing it to be quite versatile as both a reconnaissance and assassination style teigu.

The adoptive elder brother of General Tatsumi, presumed the last survivor of the Kim un-Kur slaughter.

A former teacher in the outskirts of the Capital until his classroom was slaughtered by an unknown assailant. His intellect is hypothetically on par with Dr. Stylish' but instead of applying towards research it is instead used towards personal development as well as the pursuit of exploring potential. He has shown a talent at bringing out skills previously unseen in others.]

[Kurome (Assassination squad):

Teigu: March of the dead Yatsufusa

Katana type teigu: allows the user to resurrect the dead, but only those who are victim to the blade in their final moment.

Was brought into the Capital due to the actions of General Tatsumi. Was pulled from Doctor Malbose's chemical body enhancement experimentations, due to General Tatsumi, was trained by and placed into the Assassination squad due to General Tatsumi.

The younger sister to Akame of night raid. Experiments performed on her in adolescence has given her a permanent reliance of performance enhancing drugs. These drugs will lead to an early death as they toll on her body increases exponentially over time. Despite the growing weakness of her body she is still one of the most highly skilled and dangerous soldiers under imperial employment. As an unranked soldier she holds one of the highest kill rates under record.]

Stylish, Ran, Kurome, and Seryu were especially intriguing to Esdese. These four had all interacted with Tatsumi prior to his disappearance. Some had rather extensive histories with the legend. Notably Ran and Seryu had known the young man for years, either as adoptive family or as a pseudo-sister of sorts. There were no records of Ran's relationship to Tatsumi, but Esdese could always ask him when he was her subordinate. Seryu, however, held extensive Training records with Tatsumi. She was apparently an apprentice of sorts under the soldier. Much like he had trained Emperor Makoto in healing Magicks, and Trained Kurome to get her into the Assassination Squad.

Esdese wasn't sure what she would be able to learn from these three, and she knew she would have to foster extensive relations with the three to be privy to such knowledge. But Stylish she was sure would be able to tell her a little more about how the General had operated in his time as an imperial Colonel. At the very least he would be able to share some of the benefits of research developed alongside Tatsumi and Gaithson. The greatest benefit to reap from Stylish would be his connection to the Autha-Gaulir and the Wolves by extension.

[Bols Nerome (Incineration squad):

Teigu: Invitation of Purgatory: Rubicante

Flamethrower type teigu, flames are unquenchable

Not much is known about the man. Nobody has ever seen his face. And nobody has ever heard him speak. He just burns down what he is ordered to.]

[Terrant Andover (demolition squad):

Teigu: Blight of hell's atmosphere: whirlwind

Supercharged air blower type teigu, capable of creating Tornadoes.

A recent addition to the ranks of Teigu Users. He used to be the Demolition squads head of clean up. His specialty is erasing evidence of prior existence in any area.]

[Kateli'na Banqlao (Department for the requisition of Hydroponic crops):

Teigu: Water of Cocytus: monsoon

Pressure washer type teigu, capable of blasting the skin off of most mid-level danger beasts at a thousand yards

The youngest living Teiu user. At the current age of eighteen, she was the most naive of the elite soldiers in the imperial army. At first glance, she is more inclined towards agriculture than killing. However psychological tests reveal that she has developed a secondary personality that is perfectly described as a sociopath without any regard for life in the slightest.]

These three would be interesting to form an elemental cooperation attack squad with. On inspection, however, Esdese was rather unsure about the stability of these three in particular. They were all possibly psychological disasters waiting to happen. There was enough information in Bols reports to indicate that he was quite possibly a pyromaniac to the highest degree. An obsessive neat-freak with an overpowered leaf blower was a disturbing statement in an of itself, and that is exactly what she would be dealing with in regards to Terrant. And Kateli'na was a ticking time bomb, she would take hours of psychological conditioning to ensure that she wouldn't needlessly try to kill her comrades attempting to take out a target.

[Wave Coshinte (Imperial Navy):

Teigu: Carnage incarnate: Grand Chariot

Armor type teigu, physical strength and dexterity increase, capable of flight.

A young soldier who served in the imperial navy. Comes from a small fishing village towards the aquatic border of the Etheralaine empire. Most notable for hunting Aquatic danger beasts while defending the M.A.S.T. (Marine Ambit Safeguarding Trench)]

At the very least with Wave She was sure he had potential. Very few people had the physical fortitude to utilize Grand Chariot Properly. Even fewer held the mental fortitude to gladly Defend the M.A.S.T. that post was normally given out to soldiers as a punishment. Even the mere insinuation of the threat of an assignment to the M.A.S.T. quelled a large amount of insubordinate behaviors. Esdese was worried for this man's mental stability because the reports show he applied specifically to that position in the imperial army.

* * *

_Tatsumi_

Tatsumi was trying to force himself to relax, if only for the sake of his four sweethearts. He could feel her worry for him in her Aura. He quite enjoyed her aura when it wasn't marred by negativity in any form. And Akame was quite comfortable nuzzled into the young man. But she was worried when he tensed up. She hoped he wasn't still bothered by whether or not he was human. But she also realized that it would probably take a while to really heal that damage. Tatsumi on the other hand was really only bothered by one thing specifically right now. He just had one question. And he knew that it was a simple one. "Najenda, What do you know about who i was two years ago?"

* * *

 **A.N.**

This took way to long to get out. But the next couple of chapters will be really fun. I'll e doing the same for the Jaegers that i did with Night raid and give them each a section. And then it will lead into the Tournament. The tournament will be an extra long chapter. And i've already started writing out both of the upcoming chapters. Now this being said i really should start slowing down. I want this to be written out as well as possible. This project of mine has been years in the making, the Autha-Gaulir is only the first book,so to speak, in my project. I have a ton of concepts to introduce and flesh out. Such as explaining the importance of why Tatsumi is genetically different. And the nature of Tentai Heiki. And a plethora of other things that i have lined up in the grand scheme. As such i hope you will forgive me. But i will try to get these next to chapter out ASAP. Just for you **Hannah300**. The encouragement is very much appreciated. To all of the other people who are reviewing, thankyou very much as well. It really means so much to me that people are enjoying this story. And i do see every review. In most cases i don't reply because i don't want to spoil anything. However that doesn't mean that i do not see you constantly asking about what happens between Esdese and Tatsumi when they meet again, or when Tatsumi regains his memories. Yes i am looking at you **Sasuke75249** , **Man of steel.** Also to **Pandatone**. Schere is an alternate pronunciation of her name. And Schere also mean Sheers in German...I like puns. And in case you're feeling left out. I see you Too Ooze. don't think i'm forgetting someone who's been here from the start. **  
**  
If you check my Profile page you will find i have a poll up. I'm looking to start writing two other stories alongside Autha Gaulir and get some other parts of my project started up. Please check out the link below and hit the vote now button towards the top to cast in which two stories you'd like me to start up alongside Autha-Gaulir

u/9650831sanishiiryuu

 **upon further inspection the poll UI is a bit asinine. here are the options, feel free to pm me, or post a review with your votes. only two options please**

 **\- Naruto: A demonic reflection: follows Naruto in his quest to find a family**

 **\- Kiba: Reality Falls: Follows Zed Seto as he works to find meaning in his existence**

 **\- Rosario Vampire: What doe sit mean to be human: Follows the demonically possessed Tsukune as he struggles with what his humanity actually means**

 **\- Highschool DXD: Inexistant Follows the Mage Issei as he is dragged back into the supernatural world**

 **\- post prologue to each and then repost poll**

 **\- Continue Autha Gaulir alone**

Now while you're at it why not check out this discord, you may even see me over there at time.

 **[discord** **.gg/7vvA3Ce]**

Special thankyou to **Grezna the Apocralyph** for betaing my story and thankyou to **When they Steal your memes** for all of your help in writing out this chapter. I hope this chapter too your advice to heart correctly and fixed all of the problems you saw with the last chapter.

Thank you all for reading as always. Hope to see you soon with a new chapter

Saiya!


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